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• Pedestrian fatalities rise, but overall road toll falls

  ON TRACK: All but one category of traffic incidents had fewer deaths in the first six months of the year than last year, with drunk-driving deaths down the most, by 35%

  • By Tsai Yun-jung and Lery Hiciano / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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  Pedestrian fatalities in Taiwan increased 5.8 percent in the first half of this year from the same period last year, while overall traffic fatalities decreased 9 percent, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said on Thursday.

  In his first news conference since taking office on Monday, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) said that from January to June, cumulative deaths, injuries and incidents on the road decreased compared with the same period last year.

  Deaths decreased by 141, a 9 percent drop, in line with the government’s goal of a 7 percent yearly reduction, he said.

  

  A woman crosses a road in Taipei’s Datong District on April 18.

  Photo: CNA

  The total number of incidents in the period was 192,864, resulting in 257,380 injuries and 1,428 deaths, Department of Railways, Highways and Road Safety Deputy Director-General Huang Yun-kui (黃運貴) said.

  In addition to the 9 percent reduction in fatalities, the total number of incidents decreased by 9,017, a 4.5 percent drop, and injuries decreased by 13,339, a 4.9 percent drop, Huang said.

  In June, the number of incidents, injuries and deaths improved compared with the same month last year, with incidents down 2.6 percent, injuries down 3.2 percent and fatalities down 9.6 percent, he said.

  Of the 1,428 deaths in the first six months, 870, or 60.9 percent, were scooter fatalities, he said.

  Elderly people made up 41.1 percent of the deaths at 587, followed by 183 pedestrians (12.8 percent), 85 drunk driving fatalities (5.9 percent) and 41 children (2.8 percent), he said.

  All of the categories, except pedestrians, had fewer deaths compared with the same period last year, with drunk-driving deaths dropping the most at more than 35 percent, Huang said.

  Fatalities among scooter riders and children dropped 12.8 percent each, while there was a 5.8 percent decline in deaths among elderly people, he added.

  Taoyuan had the biggest increase in traffic fatalities, which rose by 15, while Taichung had the biggest decrease of 36, he said.

  Pingtung County had the worst per capita record for overall traffic deaths at 15.6 per 100,000 people, as well as for deaths among scooter riders (11.3 per 100,000 people) and elderly people (37.4 per 100,000 people), he said.

  Hsinchu City had the highest rate of pedestrian fatalities at 2.6 per 100,000 people and Taitung County had the highest rate of drunk-driving deaths at 2.8 per 100,000 people, Huang said.

  Meanwhile, a plan to improve 799 dangerous intersections across Taiwan is progressing, Chen said.

  In the past month, 77 intersections have been improved to bring the total to 245, with the ministry on track to complete them all by the end of the year, he said.

  About 40 percent of pedestrian deaths were caused by vehicles failing to yield or pedestrians ignoring traffic regulations, the minister said.

  In addition to increased enforcement of traffic laws, Chen also called for more pedestrian education and improved traffic engineering.

  President William Lai (賴清德) has made a goal to halve pedestrian fatalities by 2030, requiring on average about a 7 percent improvement every year until then.

  Road safety is not the sole responsibility of the ministry, Chen said, adding that it requires cooperation from the central and local governments.
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