The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) said it aims to reduce the deaths from traffic accidents by 3 to 5 percent each year and slow the increase in the number of injuries within two years.
The goal was unveiled in a convention at the Taipei Expo Park yesterday, where central and local government officials pledged to enhance road safety nationwide.
Ministry statistics showed that the nation had more than 20 million registered motor vehicles last year. While the number of traffic fatalities dropped from 3,140 in 2006 to 1,928 last year, the number of injuries caused by traffic accidents exceeded 300,000 each year between 2011 and last year and shows signs of gradually increasing.
The ministry also found that more than 90 percent of the traffic accidents happened because the drivers lacked an awareness of road risks and driving ethics.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) said that though the deaths caused by traffic accidents have dropped significantly, the number of accidents was still higher than in most advanced countries.
“The death or injury of an individual not only affects the person, but also their family and society,” Yeh said. “Reducing traffic accidents should be a goal we need to work on constantly.”
Yeh said the massive road safety campaign would target four groups: motorcyclists, older drivers, cyclists and drivers of special vehicles. The last category includes drivers of tour buses, gravel trucks or large vehicles carrying dangerous items.
“About 70 to 80 percent of the accidents involve motorcycles and one-fourth of the accidents involve the elderly,” Yeh said. “People are shocked and scared when they hear about accidents involving tour buses. Cyclists should observe the traffic rules, too, as there are more of them on the streets.”
Beyond decreasing deaths at a rate of 3 percent or 5 percent per year, the ministry also aims to reduce total fatalities to below 1,500 by 2020.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said that each death in an accident is another tragedy for a family. He described how a conversation he had with a borough warden six months ago helped improve the traffic facilities in the city.
“He told me that his mother passed away last year after being hit by a reckless driver. The cause of the accident was that the traffic signals were blocked by a tree and the driver did not follow the traffic rules either. Instead of becoming passive, the borough warden became more aware of the traffic facilities. I was impressed by what he said in that meeting. We, as government workers, should consider the needs of the people, because we could be held responsible for any tragedy for failing to improve the infrastructure,” Hau said.
Vice Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國), a former head of the ministry, said that the number of the deaths had dropped below 2,000 last year, but traffic accidents per capita were three time higher than that of Japan.
He shared a story of how a friend was hit by a car two days ago and died.
“He was a doctor and was all ready for an appointment,” Mao said. “Instead of using the pedestrian crossing, he crossed the street directly from the bus stop near National Taiwan University.”
“Enhancing the road safety is like doing a good deed,” Mao added. “Judging from statistics, we still have a lot of room to improve.”
A study published by online booking platform Expedia revealed searches for travel to Taipei have ballooned 2,786 percent following the lifting of COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions due to the city being a “designation dupe” for Seoul. The TikTok trend for duping — referring to substituting a designation for a more inexpensive alternative — helped propel interest in Taipei, it said in a consumer survey titled “Unpack ‘24,” which was conducted from September to October in 14 countries. Location dupes are “every bit as delightful as the tried-and-true places travelers love,” Expedia trend tracker Melanie Fish said of the year’s popular alternatives, which
SAFETY IN REGULATION: The proposal states that Chiayi should assess whether it is viable to establish such a district and draft rules to protect clients and sex workers The Chiayi City Council passed a motion yesterday to assess the viability of establishing a regulated red-light district. The council yesterday held its last session of the year, at which its fiscal 2024 budget was approved, along with 61 other proposals. The proposal to assess the viability of establishing a red-light district was put forward by independent Chiayi City Councilor Molly Yen (顏色不分藍綠支持性專區顏色田慎節). The proposal cited 2011 amendments to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which stipulate that city and county governments can pass autonomous regulations on the sex trade to manage the industry and guarantee industry workers’ rights. A ban on the
A small-scale protest that called on the government to cancel its plan to welcome Indian migrant workers in a bid to tackle Taiwan’s labor shortage was held in Taipei yesterday. During the protest, comprised of a few dozen people staged in front of the Presidential Office on Ketagalan Boulevard, the protest’s chief initiator, a woman identified only as “Yuna” said they wanted the central government to reconsider allowing migrant workers from India to enter Taiwan. Most people in Taiwan had little knowledge about the potential plan to allow in Indian migrant workers until a report in the media last month, she
STABILITY AND CHANGE: Flagging in recent polls, Ko this week pledged to maintain President Tsai’s foreign policy, with an emphasis on improving China relations Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday reiterated that he is “deep-green at heart” in response to accusations that he is pivoting his campaign to align closer with the ideology of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the face of flagging polls. Ko made the remark at an agricultural policy conference in Taipei, repeating his comments from an interview with CTS News a day earlier. Ko told the CTS host that he would continue to pursue President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) national defense and foreign policy in general, but with an emphasis on establishing a rapport with
RSS