A government campaign to enhance transportation safety at key intersections has succeeded in reducing the number of people sustaining injuries in traffic accidents at intersections nationwide by nearly 50 percent, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday.
The campaign, which was launched on Sept. 1 by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) and the Ministry of the Interior, has seen police officers dispatched to major intersections nationwide to crack down on motorists who fail to abide by traffic regulations, including those who do not yield to pedestrians crossing the street.
Lin revealed the preliminary results of the one-month campaign at a news conference to mark Transportation Safety Week, which began yesterday.
Photo: CNA
From Sept. 1 to Sunday, police recorded an average of 7,458 daily traffic violations at intersections, up from 3,783 last year, Directorate-General of Highways data showed.
The number of people sustaining injuries in traffic accidents at intersections during the two-week period fell from an average of 714 people per day last year to 358, the data showed.
“The nationwide crackdown has apparently generated significant results,” Lin said.
“However, it is equally important that drivers and pedestrians have road safety awareness,” he said. “Through the enforcement of traffic regulations and road safety education, we hope that ensuring road safety will become a national movement.”
Lin also thanked the representatives from nine major transportation associations for supporting the campaign, saying that the MOTC needs their participation in tackling new road safety challenges.
“We now see more elderly pedestrians on the road, as the nation is to become an ultra-aged society in 2025. The increase [in the number] of scooters and electric bicycles has also compromised road safety. Meanwhile, more pedestrians have become used to walking and using their smartphones at the same time, which becomes a major safety hazard as well,” he said.
Asked if the MOTC is planning to stipulate heavier penalties for motorists or pedestrians who fail to follow traffic regulations when crossing intersections, Lin told reporters that the ministry is studying different options and soliciting opinions from experts and other stakeholders.
Aside from imposing higher fines, the ministry is considering implementing a mechanism to remove motorists with bad driving records from the road, Lin said.
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