Following Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ policies on yielding to pedestrians, the lowest traffic-induced mortality rates in 66 months were observed in August at 200, down by 63 compared with the same period last year, the ministry said yesterday.
Meanwhile, traffic accidents from January to August totaled 268,330 incidents, up 27,295 incidents, or 11.3 percent, compared with the same period last year, Department of Railways, Highways and Road Safety Deputy Director-General Huang Yun-kui (黃運貴) said.
Total deaths from traffic accidents stood at 1,991, up by 18, or 0.9 percent, compared with the same period last year, and 359,088 injuries, up by 39,061, or 12.2 percent, Huang said.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Comparing statistics from August with the same time last year, there were 32,699 traffic accidents this year, up by 1,412, or 4.5 percent, with a mortality rate of 200 deaths, down by 63, or 24 percent, marking the second-most significant decrease in traffic incident-related mortality rates since 2008, he said.
There were 1,273 scooter drivers killed in traffic incidents, comprising 63.9 percent of all deaths from January to August, but the figures were down by 11 deaths compared with the same period last year, ministry data showed.
There were 801 seniors killed in traffic incidents, or about 40.2 percent of deaths, up by 19 compared with the same period last year, ministry data showed.
The number of drivers that have died due to incidents with driving under the influence stood at 174, on par with the count from same time last year, while pedestrian deaths stood at 221, up by 1 person, ministry data showed.
Nantou County was the worst-performing county in road safety, with a death toll increase of 40, while Taipei was the worst-performing municipality in terms of pedestrian safety, with 12 pedestrian deaths, the statistics showed.
Kaohsiung was the best-performing city, with the overall death toll decreasing by 37 and pedestrian mortality rates down by 15 deaths, ministry data showed.
Separately, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kuo-tsai (王國材) yesterday said in the first half of the year, there was an increase in the amount of traffic incidents, but the second half has seen a significant improvement.
The ministry has inspected all roads regarding road safety signage and would conclude ameliorative construction projects for 703 dangerous crossings across the nation, Wang said.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a
RSS