In some ways yes it has gotten worse. Fine and penalties are still there and higher than before…however, if it is a “minor” penalty it can only be reported by police and tech. enforcement (of which this one won’t result in any points).
Overall I would say it’s a significant step backwards as it shows the govt., especially the MOTC, is unwilling to make any real progress and will bend over backwards for the sake of a few thousand bad drivers rather than the half a million killed and injured every year, which by the Central Govt.'s own research has a massive effect on the country’s GDP. (I shared this article somewhere on Forumosa but I can’t for the life of me find it…).
Above pictures are from the 8/20 Stop Killing Pedestrians Rally in Taipei last year, where all the presidential candidates at the time came out。 The head of the MOTC came out bowed down to the public as well.
Removing lanes to have sidewalk with help to reduce traffic. Making traffic smooth will only increment traffic. One more lane never fix a problem. Less traffic = less death
Of course, but good luck convincing the local govts. of that. Taichung still likes making new roads with no sidewalks or massive roads with toothpick sized sidewalks.
That kind of accidents i see most often around me. The whole mentality of scooters to “if i driver very fast, i can cross before the pedestrians from front of them rather than wait like 10 seconds and cross from behind them”
Ke P. decided to throw his 2 cents in. (English article).
TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je blasted the government on Friday (March 8) over its amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act, characterizing them as “lazy solutions to lazy problems.”
Ko expressed concern that the changes could endorse law-breaking if the police do not catch offenders.
He insisted that Taiwan be a rule-of-law nation, where new laws should be respected and followed immediately upon enactment.
The TPP leader further pointed to inconsistencies in traffic signage across Taiwan’s counties and cities as a laughable issue. “We shouldn’t have a lazy government using lazy methods to solve lazy problems,” Ko stated.
His remarks followed the Executive Yuan’s approval yesterday of new amendments and related measures to the Act. Ten minor traffic offenses punishable by fines of up to NT＄1200 will no longer result in demerit points or permit public reporting.
Among these violations are riding a scooter without a helmet, using a cell phone while cycling, parking inappropriately at intersections, public entrances or exits, in front of fire hydrants, or occupying parking spaces reserved for disabled individuals.
Update to a story from last year. In Taichung a teenager took a picture of an illegally parked vehicle near a kindergarten and a parent, 35 years old, grabbed him to get him to delete the photos. The teenager broke free and ran away into a convenience store to call for help and the parent chased after him and forced him into a corner and stole his phone and his glasses.
Only after the police arrived did the man return the teenager’s phone and glasses and apologize. The parent was sentenced to 3 months in prison, which can be commuted to a fine. The case can still be appealed.
The man claimed he didn’t commit any crimes and simply wanted to know what photos the teenager took. The surveillance footage showed the man chasing after the teenager and restricting his freedom.
News video from last year.
In Taipei a 67 year old woman was unloading stuff from her vehicle whilst illegally parked. The woman was mad after police officers told her she was illegally parked and ended up assaulting the officers and afterwards ends up getting put on the ground to get cuffed.
The current points system didn’t even exist at the time…so he risked getting thrown in jail and paying a lot more for assaulting a minor and stealing his possessions over potentially a couple hundred NTD fine.
Today I had my most satisfying traffic related experience in Taiwan. We wanted to cross the street on a crosswalk without traffic lights (I know, I know). Vehicles weren’t stopping and pedestrians weren’t moving, in other words: business as usual. So, I moved forward, the car (SUV) didn’t stop and I touched it with my hand. I guess that was the “less than 3 m” clue that the police behind the car needed, because they started the siren and lights. I moved my hand in a courteous way to let the police scooter pass, but they allowed pedestrians to cross first, then pursued and stopped the moron.
And yet, those are minor offenses.
I hope none of the relatives of the “brilliant minds” behind the recent changes ever get stuck in an ambulance like that.
Why is that a good day? It makes no sense and is just non-sensical following of SOP that permeates culture in Taiwan and risks causing the car behind crash into the bus.
How about bus drivers just stop when there are pedestrians?
People complained after many people died because of “blind stop” and other countries have this rule for bus and trucks. The car behind should pay attention and distance
