By Chen Hsin-yu, Cheng Wei-chi and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writer
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said it would hold discussions on whether fines for pedestrians breaking the law should be increased.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (???) made the remarks after Platform Driver Alliance spokesman Well Lee (???) criticized the ministry’s policy of fining drivers NT$6,000 if they refuse to yield to pedestrians.
Lee said that the policy, which was implemented on June 30, was unrealistic.
Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei Times
Wang said that there were issues with pedestrians breaking traffic laws and the ministry is looking into raising the fine from the current NT$500.
Wang said the ministry hopes to push through amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (??????????) to help protect motorists and pedestrians.
Taiwan has been dubbed a “pedestrian hell” as people are often injured when crossing the street.
The ministry said it is working with the National Police Agency to introduce measures that would reduce accidents, focusing primarily on construction, education, oversight and enforcement.
In terms of enforcement, police issued 39,754 tickets to motorists from May 1 to June 30, up 434 percent from the 7,443 tickets issued during the same period last year, ministry data showed.
As for illegal parking on sidewalks, 267,508 tickets were issued, 31.27 percent more than the 203,787 issued a year earlier.
Penalties for failing to yield to pedestrians at crossings without lights increased 163.76 percent, rising to 11,558 from 4,382 in May and June last year.
There were 15,280 tickets issued for illegal obstruction of roads, up 62.59 percent from the 9,398 tickets issued a year earlier.
The ministry said that of the 3,699 pedestrian lights it plans to add this year, 2,881 had been installed as of June 30, while 33.4km out of a planned 113.9km of sidewalk improvements had been completed.
It said it had also improved the streets around 66 schools out of the 799 school projects planned for this year, and had completed 1,163 signage improvement projects out of the 5,241 planned.
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