Mon, Jan 04, 2021 page2

• Proposal would ban use of devices while driving

  NO ENTRY: A KMT legislator has proposed a bill to bar officials determined to have shown contempt for the legislature from entering the Legislative Yuan in Taipei

  • By Huang Hsin-po, Chen Yun and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporters, with staff writer
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  Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) on Saturday said he would sponsor an amendment banning the use of mobile devices mounted in a holder while driving.

  The Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例) prohibits driving while using a device that is held in the driver’s hand, but the phrasing does not restrict use of a device that has been placed in a holder, he said.

  Any action that distracts a driver for even two seconds could create a dangerous traffic situation, Chao said, citing the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ Road Safety Committee.

  Police data show that road collisions involving electronic device use have increased from 366 in 2016 to 454 in 2019, he said.

  The amendments would change the act’s phrasing to include a blanket ban on mobile device use while driving, Chao said, adding that fines stipulated in the act would remain unchanged.

  Using a phone while driving is punishable by a fine of NT$3,000 for car drivers and NT$1,000 for motorcycle and scooter drivers.

  A delivery driver surnamed Lu (呂) said that most delivery drivers use a phone device only while stopped at a red light and when they know they have enough time before the light turns green.

  “Drivers who watch TV on the road are the real menace to safety, and I do not think the suggested changes to the law will fix the problem” of unsafe driving habits, Lu said.

  Another delivery driver surnamed Hu (胡) said that taking orders and using navigation apps are things drivers can do before they are on the road, and that drivers can always pull over to check their cellphones.

  “The amendment will not have much effect on our jobs. Delivery people are pedestrians, too, and we should welcome policies that make the roads safer,” Hu said.

  In other legislative news, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Charles Chen (陳以信) on Friday said he would introduce a bill that would bar officials who show contempt for the legislature from entering the Legislative Yuan.

  The proposed amendments would authorize the legislature to refuse entry to officials who showed contempt for the remainder of a legislative session, or until lawmakers see fit to rescind the status, he said.

  Under the Act Governing the Exercise of Legislative Power (立法院職權行使法), members of the Executive Yuan must have the premier’s written permission to be excused from legislative interpellations, for which a stated reason is required, Chen said.

  His proposed amendments would require the premier to request permission from the legislative speaker to be absent from interpellations, while other Executive Yuan officials must be excused by the convener of a session’s committee, he said.

  If passed, the bill would ensure that government officials treat the Legislative Yuan with dignity and hold it in higher respect, Chen said.

  The premier and other members of the Executive Yuan have a constitutional duty to attend interpellations so that they can be held accountable, Chen said.

  Chen added that in practice, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and officials had on multiple occasions skipped legislative sessions without explaining their absence, refused to answer questions forthrightly or had given untruthful responses.

  Such actions significantly hinder lawmakers from effectively monitoring the executive branch, and yet no penalty is stipulated under the law for contempt of the legislature, he said.
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