A collaborative one-month project by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the National Police Agency (NPA) is to commence next month in hopes of reducing traffic accident rates.
Starting on Sept. 1, automobiles and scooters failing to yield the right of way to pedestrians at crossings or when turning are to be fined between NT$1,200 and NT$3,600 (US$41 and US$122), while vehicles running red lights are to be fined between NT$1,800 and NT$5,400, the NPA said.
Vehicles illegally turning right on a red light are to be fined between NT$600 and NT$1,800, while pedestrians failing to observe pedestrian crossings or jaywalking are to be fined NT$300, it said.
Photo: Hsieh Chieh-yu,Taipei Times
If a vehicle proceeds over a crossing within 3m, or one lane, of a pedestrian, it would be considered not yielding, NPA Traffic Division chief Wang Feng-hui (王鳳輝) said.
Vehicles failing to yield the right of way when instructed to do so by a police officer would be considered a violation, he said, adding that if a vehicle is directed to pull over after failing to yield to pedestrians and ignores it, it would also be considered a violation.
NPA statistics showed that the number of incidents of vehicles failing to yield to pedestrians is on the rise — from 879,698 in 2015 to 1.38 million last year, and 779,110 in the first half of this year.
While the NPA is stepping up regulation enforcement, there is still a long way to go for the public to learn to obey the law, Wang said.
The number of fatalities occurring within 30 days of a traffic accident was 2,865 last year, rising by 85, or 3.1 percent, from 2018, the ministry’s Road Safety Committee Executive Secretary Hsieh Ming-hung (謝銘鴻) said.
Overall pedestrian injury and fatality rates rose to 458 last year, from 381 in 2017, while pedestrian injury and fatality rates at crossroads and intersections climbed to 209 last year, from 179 in 2017.
The safety of pedestrians must be guaranteed as they comprise the largest group of those using the roads, which is the impetus for the project, Hsieh said.
Armed with a budget of NT$804 million, the ministry said it would work with the Construction and Planning Agency to improve 2,680 intersections and crossings across the nation over the next four years.
Road safety is paramount as Taiwan is rapidly becoming an aging society, with elderly people comprising seven out of every 10 pedestrian fatalities, it said, encouraging local governments to create elderly-friendly environments, such as more sidewalks, increased number of pedestrian crossing lights and shorter crossings.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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