Penalties would not immediately be issued for vehicles temporarily stopping in illegal zones, as long as video evidence shows they are not affecting the flow of traffic, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said on Tuesday.
Professional drivers have been protesting what they see as unfair enforcement of traffic laws, particularly rules about temporary stopping and a lowered threshold for license suspension.
Late on Monday, National Drivers’ Alliance chairman Liu Hung-chang (劉鴻樟) said that talks with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications had produced three agreements.
Photo courtesy of the Taoyuan Police Department
The ministry agreed to draw more yellow lines where five-minute temporary stopping is permitted, following complaints from taxis and truck drivers that they are forced to break rules when picking up passengers or unloading cargo for lack of legal stopping zones, Liu said.
Before the lines are drawn, the ministry has agreed to ease enforcement, as drivers are also concerned about a tougher penalty system that would see a driver’s license suspended for two months after accumulating 12 points in a year, he said.
Lastly, it has agreed that a video at least three minutes long would be needed to prove that an illegally stopped vehicle was affecting traffic in order to issue a penalty, Liu added.
Speaking to reporters ahead of a legislative session on Tuesday, Wang said there is already a legal provision that allows for enforcers to give a reminder before issuing penalties, as long as an illegally stopped vehicle is not affecting traffic.
Video evidence is used in this type of situation, but not for other kinds of violations, he added, without mentioning the length of the video.
Additional reporting by CNA
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