A 30-year-old woman and her one-year-old son were killed late on Tuesday when a bus making a left turn crashed into them as they crossed an intersection in Taichung’s North District (北區), city authorities said, as the central government detailed measures to address pedestrian safety.
The Taichung Police Department said that the incident occurred as the woman, her husband and their child were crossing Yingcai Road at the intersection with Xueshi Road at about 11:15pm.
As they were crossing, a city bus on the No. 280 route made a left turn on a green light onto Yingcai Road and, apparently failing to see the pedestrians, plowed into the two adults and their child in a stroller, police said.
Photo courtesy of a member of the public via CNA
The three were immediately taken to China Medical University Hospital, where the mother, surnamed Lee (李), and her child were pronounced dead.
The father, an Iraqi national, was treated for minor injuries.
The father, identified by his Chinese surname Chi (季), told media after the crash that they had been walking in the crosswalk and were almost across the street when the bus, moving at a high speed, made a left turn into them.
Chi’s account was corroborated by witnesses, who said the family had been legally crossing at a crosswalk, but appeared to have been in the driver’s “blind spot,” as he did not reduce the bus’ speed.
Meanwhile, the 53-year-old driver, surnamed Chen (陳), said he did not see the family due to the dim lighting in the area, and only realized something had happened after feeling a “bump” on the back end of his bus.
Chen declined to go into detail, other than to say he felt “very sorry” for what happened and would cooperate with the investigation.
Yesterday, the Taichung Police Department said it would review security camera footage from the bus and the site of the crash.
The Taichung Transportation Bureau said it would issue a NT$75,000 fine to Fengyuan Bus Transportation Co, which operates the No. 280 route, and dock points from its performance evaluation, which is to affect how much it can receive in local government subsidies.
A Taichung court yesterday released Chen on NT$100,000 bail.
Separately, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday detailed plans to improve pedestrian safety, including reviews of walkways in the six special municipalities and heavier traffic rule enforcement.
Many Taiwanese streets lack sidewalks, and existing sidewalks are often blocked by scooters or other items, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said.
Bolstering traffic safety in the long term relies on education, but in the short term, law enforcement is the best option, he said.
Short-term improvement of pedestrian infrastructure can only be achieved through penalizing those who block walkways, Wang said, calling on local governments to set up enforcement task forces.
The National Police Agency is also to increase enforcement of right-of-way rules and other measures to protect pedestrians in the hopes of instilling safe driving habits, Wang said.
The ministry has reached an agreement with local governments and the Construction and Planning Agency to improve pedestrian crossings and signals on intersections with heavy traffic, as it hopes to improve 1,000 signals next year, Wang added.
Other measures would include installing more traffic lights and traffic dividers, as well as easing requirements for setting up signals and reviewing road design regulations to prioritize human-centric designs, he said.
In the first 10 months of this year, there were 304,026 traffic incidents, resulting in 2,560 fatalities and 403,878 injuries, ministry data showed.
All were annual increases, with accidents rising by 5.5 percent, fatalities by 6.2 percent and injuries by 5.5 percent.
Fatalities last year dropped below 3,000, marking the first time in six years the figure had fallen, Wang said.
The ministry had expected the downward trend to continue, but with data for this month and last month pending, the figure has already climbed higher than expectations, he said.
In the first 10 months, the top municipalities for fatalities were Kaohsiung, with 308, New Taipei City with 263, Taichung with 253 and Tainan with 248, Wang said, adding that Changhua was the county with the most fatalities, with 212.
Most people who died were either scooter riders, elderly or drunk drivers, he added.
The number of drunk drivers killed in crashes in the first 10 months fell by 27 from the same period last year, he added.
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