Several road safety groups today said a demonstration would be held on Sunday outside the Legislative Yuan and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications following a fatal car crash earlier this week.
A car crash on Monday in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽) involved a 78-year-old driver who had been speeding through a road, killing three and injuring 12.
In response, the ministry on Tuesday announced a proposal to lower the age for elderly drivers to renew their license from 75 to 70.
Photo: CNA
However, elderly drivers are not the only ones who should undergo license renewal, Next-gen Transportation Union chairperson Nolan Wang (王晉謙) said.
Wang and Vision Zero Taiwan chairman Chen Kai-ning (陳愷寧) called for the ministry to implement a driver retraining system across the board.
Chen said she hopes that driving tests, driver’s license management, comprehensive retraining programs, points-based penalty systems and regulations on car window tinting would undergo serious reforms to move toward the goal of zero road-related fatalities.
Vision Zero Taiwan today submitted a petition to the Executive Yuan calling for sweeping reforms to improve road safety and overhaul the driver’s licensing system, outlining seven key demands.
First, to improve and promote standardized road design, second, to prioritize protecting vulnerable road users by establishing pedestrian priority in densely populated areas and school districts, and third, to reform driver training and licensing systems to further establish pedestrian priority.
Fourth, they demanded the reinstatement of the original points penalty system and the implementation of retraining systems, and fifth, to align vehicle window light transmission standards with international norms and regulate older vehicles.
Their sixth demand was to establish a transportation model that prioritizes pedestrians, cyclists and public transport to provide safe alternatives to driving, and last, to include transportation and road safety advocacy groups in government meetings to ensure public voices are heard and avoid closed-door policymaking.
Executive Yuan Department of Transportation, Environment and Natural Resources Deputy Director Huang Chih-yuan (黃志元) accepted the petition.
Improving road safety is a top priority for the government, which would be achieved through engineering, supervision, education and enforcement, Huang said.
On Tuesday, the ministry announced three major reforms to the driver’s license system: stricter testing, raising safety awareness for those with traffic violations and reducing the age for license renewal for the elderly.
“The ministry has never banned elderly drivers from driving; these measures are to assist the elderly to become safer drivers,” Department of Public Transportation and Supervision Director-General Lin Fu-shan (林福山) said today.
Additional reporting by Chung Li-hua
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