Several road safety groups yesterday panned the Highway Bureau for its plan to introduce a mandatory “pointing and calling” requirement in driving tests, saying the “stupid” regulation lacked consensus from civic groups and could compromise traffic safety.
After a meeting with road safety groups on Friday, bureau officials told reporters that starting on June 2, the driving test for sedans would include a new “pointing and calling” requirement, Taiwan Vision Zero Alliance chairperson Luna Chen (陳愷寧) told a news conference in Taipei.
Learner drivers who fail to perform the newly required action during the test would not pass, she added.
Photo: CNA
“Everyone agrees this is a stupid regulation, yet the government rushed to make the decision and even issued a press release using civic groups as endorsement tools,” Chen said.
She said the bureau showed “a complete lack of respect” toward civic groups.
“Pointing and calling” is a safety confirmation method that originated in Japan, involving gesture and verbal confirmation to prevent operational errors, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) said on social media in October last year.
In Taiwan, only drivers of certain bus lines are required to perform such checks — stopping their vehicles, pointing to the left, front and right, and verbally confirming that no pedestrians are present — before turning at intersections, alliance member Teddy Lin (林柏勛) said.
Even drivers of large trucks have since August last year only been asked to follow a non-mandatory government campaign to stop before turning, with no requirement for “pointing and calling” checks, Lin said.
“In Europe and the United States, where driving behavior is more strictly regulated, drivers are only required to perform a head turn to check, commonly known as a ‘shoulder check,’” he added.
His alliance opposes the new requirement for sedans, as it would not only be difficult to enforce, but would also disrupt smooth traffic flow, thereby compromising safety, he said.
Roy Lo (羅宜), a member of the Taiwan Motorcycle Rights Promotion Association, said that requiring more vehicles to perform “pointing and calling” would significantly slow down traffic.
“How many cars would even be able to pass through a single traffic light cycle under such conditions?” Lo asked.
Lin suggested that all drivers should be required to perform “shoulder checks” at intersections and crosswalks and check their blind spots — steps that are not clearly mandated under current regulations.
In a statement issued on Monday, the bureau said the new “pointing and calling” requirement for the sedan driving test was still being “discussed internally,” and June 2 was a proposed implementation date, and has not yet been finalized.
Given differing public opinions, the bureau said it would continue to consult with relevant stakeholders and review the policy as needed to ensure it “better meets practical needs.”
The bureau did not ask civic groups to endorse the new requirement, it added.
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