Following a six month grace period police will begin fining passengers in the backseat of cars who do not wear seatbelts as of Wednesday, with violators facing fines of between NT$1,500 and NT$6,000, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced.
Drivers on city streets or highways will be fined NT$1,500 if their back seat passengers do not buckle up, the ministry said. For tollways and expressways, the fine will range from NT$3,000 to NT$6,000, it said.
In the case of children aged between four and 12, or who weigh between 18kg and 36kg, the new regulations allow a grace period until Aug. 1, the ministry said.
Taxi drivers are exempted from fines, as long as they remind back seat passengers to fasten their seat belts, the ministry said.
Back seat passengers in vehicles such as ambulances are also exempt, the ministry said. The rule also does not apply to those who are advised by doctors not to wear a seat belt.
Compulsory seat belts for back seat passengers has been discussed previously, but drawn a mixed response.
The new regulations were proposed after Nora Sun (孫穗芬), a granddaughter of Republic of China founding father Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙), died in Taipei last year from severe injuries sustained in a car crash. She was a back seat passenger and not wearing a seat belt.
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