The Legislative Yuan today passed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例) that raise the penalties for certain traffic contraventions.
They were passed without any objections.
The amendments would raise the fine for using mobile phones, computers or other similar devices to call, text or send or receive data while driving a motorcycle from NT$1,000 to NT$1,200.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The fine for doing that while driving a car is NT$3,000.
They would also raise the fine for holding, smoking or lighting a cigarette while driving a car or motorcycle from NT$600 to NT$1,200.
Under the amendments, drivers who fail to reduce their speed in areas marked as school or hospital zones and who cause death or injury would face sentences that are increased by up to half of the original penalty.
There has been an increase in the number of traffic accidents, and children and seniors, who are more vulnerable to traffic, often use roads around schools and hospitals, the proposal for the amendments states.
For cases involving alcohol or drug testing, the amendments would revise the starting point of the police reporting deadline to the date that test results are delivered to police units, rather than the date of the contravention.
The change addresses administrative loopholes that have posed potential public safety risks, as delays in urine test results have in some cases exceeded the statutory reporting deadline of two months, preventing authorities from suspending offenders’ licenses, the proposal states.
The amendments also state that if an injurious car accident with unclear liability is sent for external appraisal, the statutory period starts from the date the appraisal is completed.
If police instead rely on their own analysis, they must issue a citation within three months, they state.
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