Riders of motorcycles with engine displacement of more than 250 cubic centimeters (cc) could from next month be permanently allowed to access improved sections of the Suhua Highway along the east coast following a six-month trial, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday.
The trial was launched on Sept. 30 last year by the Directorate-General of Highways, which tasked the Chinese Institute of Transportation to analyze traffic data, Department of Railways and Highways Director Lin Fu-san (林福山) said.
Results of the data analysis showed that the motorcycles would not compromise road safety, Lin said.
Photo: Chiang Chih-hsiung, Taipei Times
The highways agency has included scenarios involving motorcycle accidents in its disaster drills, Lin added.
The highways agency has officially proposed that motorcycles be allowed on improved sections of the Suhua Highway, he said, adding that it has also proposed a trial that would temporarily allow motorcycles with 50cc to 250cc engines to use the same sections.
The trial would be held between Hualien County’s Hejhong (和中) and Heren (和仁), where riders of smaller motorcycles would be allowed to use the shoulders of the highway, Lin said.
The ministry has yet to approve the two proposals, he said.
“Our principle of reviewing the proposals is that safety should be the top priority,” he said. “The Directorate-General of Highways should be able to confirm all the details related to opening the highway’s improved sections to heavy motorcycles next month, and the trial for motorcycles with 50cc to 250cc engines should begin in September.”
The government restricts motorcycle riders from accessing certain road sections to protect their safety, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said.
However, restrictions should be lifted if they force them to use more dangerous roads instead, he said.
The Suhua Highway improvement project, which was completed in 2020, has improved the safety of three sections of the highway that previously were vulnerable to landslides, the ministry said.
In other news, Wang said the Taiwan Railway Labor Union should not threaten to strike on national holidays every time its negotiations with the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) fail to reach its expectations.
The railway agency and the union have been negotiating over 12 sets of supporting rules of the State-run Taiwan Railways Corporation Act (國營台灣鐵路股份有限公司設置條例), which the Legislative Yuan passed on May 27 this year. The government seeks to stipulate the supporting rules before the establishment of Taiwan Railway Corp, scheduled for 2024.
However, the union on Wednesday said that its members would strike during the Mid-Autumn Festival in September, on Double Ten National Day in October and on Nov. 26, when local elections are to be held.
The negotiations focused on whether all TRA employees should get a raise and how an employee welfare fund should be established, Wang said.
“I believe any comprehensive raise for employees should be discussed after a corporation has generated profits, otherwise the company would be mired in debt when it begins to operate,” he said. “However, entry-level employees who make less than NT$30,000 per month should be quickly given a raise.”
“I hope that each side can engage in discussions in a calm and rational manner. Negotiations between employers and labor representatives take time, and the union should not keep talking about striking on national holidays whenever things do not go their way,” he said. “Such rhetoric would only unsettle the public.”
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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