Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands.
They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed.
The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner lanes when the conditions allow.
Photo: CNA
Formosa Motorcycle Rights Association director Lo Yi (羅宜) said lawmakers should repeal various restrictions on motorcyclists stipulated in Article 99 of the Road and Traffic Safety Rules (道路交通安全規則), and should reform driver training to prevent unsafe driving practices that endanger motorcyclists.
“The outer lanes of many roads are used by truck drivers to temporarily park to load and unload goods, so inner lanes should be accessible to motorcyclists,” he said.
Regarding the use of heavy vehicles on national highways, Lo said that the ministry has not produced data showing that the accident rate of large motorcycles on highways is higher than that of passenger vehicles.
The ministry often pits motorcyclists against drivers of passenger vehicles, but many riders of large motorcycles are also drivers who use vehicles to commute to work, he said.
The association chose to surround the ministry with passenger vehicles to show that the rights of both groups overlap, he said.
The ministry said that due to differences in road design and traffic flow characteristics at intersections, local authorities would still be allowed to evaluate and plan lane access for motorcycles and two-stage left-turn control measures based on local conditions.
“It is not reasonable to completely abolish the restrictions on motorcycles and the rules on two-stage left turns,” it said.
Regarding motorcycle access to national highways, the ministry said it had reviewed indicators of safety, orderly riding and rider behavior, and found that behavior had deteriorated over the evaluation period, especially in regard to awareness of safe distances between vehicles.
“There are shortcomings and the public is still not in favor of allowing motorcycles on highways. Therefore, we will wait for improvements and public support before considering opening up highways to large motorcycles,” it said.
Regarding driver training, officials are considering introducing short-term licenses for drivers and riders with repeat and serious traffic violations, it said.
Those whose driving licenses are more than one year old, and whose driving licenses have been suspended for less than one year, would be required to take road safety training and pay fines in accordance with regulations if they wish to continue operating vehicles, it said.
Pending no other serious violations, licenses would be reissued to those individuals in growing intervals — periods of one, two, three and then six years, it added.
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
RSS