Taiwan is maintaining its current rule on yielding to pedestrians at crosswalks that requires vehicles to be at least three meters away from any person when driving over a crosswalk, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) confirmed Monday.
The decision was made during a ministry-led meeting earlier in the day, after Transportation Minister Wang Kuo-tsai (王國材) last week reversed plans to require motorists to come to a full stop for all pedestrians on crosswalks, which he described as "too strict."
The now-scrapped rule, initially set to take effect June 30, was one of several new safety measures unveiled by the MOTC after a driver who failed to stop for a pedestrian crossing in Tainan struck and killed a 3-year-old girl.
The accident was the latest in a string of fatal collisions that had led to Taiwan's traffic conditions being dubbed a "living hell" for pedestrians by public safety campaigners and international news media.
An expert who participated in Monday's meeting said there was no reason to make the current crosswalk yielding rule any stricter, as people were already used to the three-meter rule.
Instead, the expert urged the Transportation Ministry to come up with better measures to protect pedestrian safety, such as raising more awareness and promoting more all-way stops at intersections.
In April, Taiwan's Legislature passed an amendment to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act, which stipulated that drivers who do not allow pedestrians to pass first, either at pedestrian crossings or other areas designated for pedestrians to cross a road, would face a fine of between NT$1,200 and NT$6,000, up from NT$1,200 to NT$3,600.
