TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The government is planning on finalizing new regulations later this week on what areas and circumstances vehicles should stop for pedestrians crossing the street.
On June 21, the National Police Agency (NPA) announced a new regulation that was to go into effect on June 30 that all drivers should stop for pedestrians present on a crosswalk, regardless of their distance from vehicles. Motorists who failed to stop for pedestrians would face a fine of up to NT$6,000 (US$193).
However, as soon as the policy was announced, many criticized it for being overly restrictive on motorists and said it could lead to traffic jams. Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said on June 22 that he believed the new rules would hinder traffic flow and announced that on June 29 an inter-agency meeting would be held to deliberate on the details of the new regulations.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications on Monday (June 26) said discussions will be held this week to determine the standards to distinguish "near" and "far" pedestrians on crosswalks based on the halfway mark of a crossing and when motorists will be required to yield, reported SET News. A final decision is to be made this week, although an exact date for implementation has not been given.
In the past, the standard set by the NPA was that when vehicles come within three meters of a pedestrian, they must come to a full stop. However, if a vehicle is traveling at a high rate of speed, even a distance of four or five meters may not be enough to come to a safe stop.
