The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) yesterday said it would introduce a draft bill to raise fines for traffic violations, including reckless driving and double parking.
The ministry said that its draft amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例), as well as several amendments to the act introduced by lawmakers, would be discussed at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Transportation Committee on Thursday.
Amendments passed in the legislative session could take effect by the end of the year at the earliest, it said.
The ministry aims to hike the maximum fine for reckless driving to NT$36,000 from NT$24,000 under Article 43 of the act, it said.
The draft also includes an additional provision to Article 86, recommending harsher sentences for drivers who cause accidents resulting in serious injury or death, the ministry said.
The penalty for driving a small vehicle or motorbike without a license would result in a maximum fine of NT$24,000, twice the current maximum of NT$12,000, the ministry said.
The amendments would also allow traffic authorities to tow the vehicle of a person found to be driving without a license, the ministry said, adding that repeat offenders would be handed the maximum fine.
The vehicles of unlicensed drivers who caused an accident resulting in serious injury or death would be confiscated immediately, the ministry said.
The fine for operating a large vehicle without a license would remain unchanged, as it is sufficiently high, it said.
The amendments also contain provisions concerning wrong-way driving on highways or highway exit ramps, the ministry said, citing incidents in which drivers turned around their vehicle to avoid a drunk driving checkpoint or after they missed their exit.
Some of these situations led to accidents in which other drivers were seriously injured, the ministry said.
To address the issue, fines for wrong-way driving would be increased to NT$6,000 to NT$36,000, up from the current NT$3,000 to NT$6,000, the ministry said.
To address the issue of improper parking, the ministry aims to introduce new fines, it said.
Drivers who block parked vehicles for less than three minutes would be fined NT$600 to NT$1,200, the ministry said.
People who park their vehicles in motorbike lanes or unauthorized in priority parking spots would be fined NT$300 to NT$600, the ministry added.
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