An increasing number of traffic fatalities involve people who fail to check the traffic situation before opening vehicle doors, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday.
Road Traffic Safety Committee data showed that the 2,476 such incidents recorded in 2021 led to 11 deaths and 2,793 injuries.
However, the number of incidents has remained stable over the past few years, the ministry said.
“Drivers or passengers illegally opening or closing a car door when making a stop or while parking” face fines of NT$1,200 to NT$3,600, Article 56-1 of the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例) stipulates.
The committee said that legislators have in the past few years attempted to raise the fines, but there was no legislative majority for such a move.
The ministry said there were no plans to amend the act, as people causing deaths or injury when illegally opening vehicle doors also face criminal charges.
Safely opening and closing vehicle doors is part of driving school curricula, and those who fail to do so during their license test would have points deducted, the ministry said.
Committee Executive Secretary Wu Mu-fu (吳木富) said that drivers passing a parked vehicle that suddenly opens its door have little time to react.
People should check their rearview mirror and turn their head to see whether there is oncoming traffic before opening the door of their vehicle when it is parked on the roadside, Wu said.
People should open the door slightly and look for oncoming traffic before fully opening it, he added.
Taiwan Traffic Safety Association deputy chairman Lin Chih-hsueh (林志學) said that the government should change the requirements for roadside parking spaces to make them safer.
The government should also increase safety for scooters, as dedicated lanes are usually right next to roadside parking spaces, he said.
Drivers should park their vehicles as close as possible to the curb, he said, adding that most parking spaces are 2.3m wide, while most vehicles are less than 2m wide.
Scooter riders should avoid the outer edge of the scooter lane to lower the risk of crashing into a suddenly opened vehicle door.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS