An accident in Pingtung County yesterday resulted in the deaths of four people, prompting authorities to urge motorists to obey road safety rules and yield to vehicles with right of way.
Several ambulances and emergency crews responded to calls in Neipu Township (內埔) at about 3am, after two motorcycles collided with a delivery truck, with four people taken to local hospitals.
All four were pronounced dead from massive injuries they sustained in the crashes.
Police said the people killed were two male motorcyclists, one surnamed Wu (吳), 29, and another surnamed Kuo (郭), 27, along with their two female passengers, both 17.
The accident happened on Provincial Road No. 26 at an intersection near the entrance to Meiho University.
Wu and Kuo were heading north, riding what are known as “superbikes.” One was a Honda and the other a Kawasaki.
Most Taiwanese ride scooters and motorcycles of less than 5 horsepower and with less than 250cc engine capacity.
Superbikes are mostly over 250cc and up to 40 horsepower or more, and are known as “heavy motorcycles,” which became more popular after import restrictions were lifted in 2002.
Police said that a delivery truck, transporting goods for 7-Eleven convenience stores, had been traveling south and was making a left-hand turn at the intersection.
Preliminary investigations indicate the truck driver failed to take account of the motorcycles approaching the intersection from the south, which then slammed into the truck, spilling the riders onto the road.
“The two heavy motorcycles on that road were going north. The truck making the turn should have yielded to vehicles going straight through on the intersection, according to the right-of-way traffic rule,” said Neipu traffic police unit head Lin Yu-hai (林玉海), who attended the scene.
Later, police obtained video footage from a camcorder mounted on one of the superbikes that indicated they were speeding in a 70kph zone.
“From the footage, we estimate the two motorcycles were going very fast, at least 90kph,” a police spokesperson said.
The video showed that the motorcycles were speeding and weaving at times before the truck’s headlights came into view, and though the two motorcyclists braked, it was not enough to avoid the collisions.
Police said a breathalyzer test showed that the delivery truck driver was not under the influence of alcohol.
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