Three people remain in intensive care and one person is receiving treatment in a general ward after 11 people were injured in a multi-car crash in Taichung’s Shalu District (沙鹿) yesterday involving more than 20 vehicles.
A semi-trailer truck lost control and crashed into more than 20 vehicles at the intersection of Siangshan Road Sec 7 and Pingsi Road at 10:13am yesterday morning.
As the road’s speed limit enforcement equipment were destroyed in the crash, police said they would dispatch more officers to increase traffic surveillance to prevent more accidents at the high-risk intersection.
Photo courtesy of a member of the public via CNA
Based on a preliminary investigation by Qingshui Precinct of the Taichung Police Department, the semi-trailer truck, driven by a 25-year-old man surnamed Hsieh (謝), is believed to have experienced brake failure before crashing into 10 cars, 11 motorcycles and one bicycle, police said.
The westbound direction of Siangshan Road Sec 6 is a long, steep slope where rear-end crashes often occur, mostly as heavy or large vehicles fail to brake in time, the Taichung City Government Transportation Bureau said.
According to police, three accidents occurred on this stretch of road from this January and last month, with two injuries and no fatalities.
Last year the section saw a total of 17 accidents, with zero fatalities and four injuries, a decrease of five accidents compared to the previous year, police said.
Safety measures have been implemented, such as Jersey barriers installed to separate fast and slow lanes, while vehicles weighing over 20 tons must use the outermost lane, the Transportation Bureau said.
Police presence in the area has also been increased to enforce speed restrictions and signs installed warning drivers to test their brakes and use a low gear, it said.
Furthermore, the bureau implemented adjustments to signal timing to ensure traffic flow, ease congestion and reduce emergency braking, it added.
The bureau said it would continue to review and adjust traffic control measures in the area.
Moreover, police urged drivers of heavy-duty vehicles to regularly test and maintain their braking systems.
Police said they have installed an average speed monitoring system on a 1.7km stretch of Siangshan Road Sec 6 from Longjing District (龍井) to Shalu District, as well as a speed camera.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
RSS