A collaborative one-month project by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the National Police Agency (NPA) is to commence next month in hopes of reducing traffic accident rates.
Starting on Sept. 1, automobiles and scooters failing to yield the right of way to pedestrians at crossings or when turning are to be fined between NT$1,200 and NT$3,600 (US$41 and US$122), while vehicles running red lights are to be fined between NT$1,800 and NT$5,400, the NPA said.
Vehicles illegally turning right on a red light are to be fined between NT$600 and NT$1,800, while pedestrians failing to observe pedestrian crossings or jaywalking are to be fined NT$300, it said.
If a vehicle proceeds over a crossing within 3m, or one lane, of a pedestrian, it would be considered not yielding, NPA Traffic Division chief Wang Feng-hui said.
Vehicles failing to yield the right of way when instructed to do so by a police officer would be considered a violation, he said, adding that if a vehicle is directed to pull over after failing to yield to pedestrians and ignores it, it would also be considered a violation.
NPA statistics showed that the number of incidents of vehicles failing to yield to pedestrians is on the rise — from 879,698 in 2015 to 1.38 million last year, and 779,110 in the first half of this year.
While the NPA is stepping up regulation enforcement, there is still a long way to go for the public to learn to obey the law, Wang said.
The number of fatalities occurring within 30 days of a traffic accident was 2,865 last year, rising by 85, or 3.1 percent, from 2018, the ministry’s Road Safety Committee Executive Secretary Hsieh Ming-hung said.
Overall pedestrian injury and fatality rates rose to 458 last year, from 381 in 2017, while pedestrian injury and fatality rates at crossroads and intersections climbed to 209 last year, from 179 in 2017.
The safety of pedestrians must be guaranteed as they comprise the largest group of those using the roads, which is the impetus for the project, Hsieh said.
Armed with a budget of NT$804 million, the ministry said it would work with the Construction and Planning Agency to improve 2,680 intersections and crossings across the nation over the next four years.
Road safety is paramount as Taiwan is rapidly becoming an aging society, with elderly people comprising seven out of every 10 pedestrian fatalities, it said, encouraging local governments to create elderly-friendly environments, such as more sidewalks, increased number of pedestrian crossing lights and shorter crossings.
