The Ministry of Transportation and Communications has failed to implement amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例) that allow heavy motorcycles onto the nation’s freeways, New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) said on Wednesday, as he criticized the ministry for fining motorcyclists who took part in protest rides along freeways earlier this week.
“In 2011 the Legislative Yuan passed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act that clearly stated that the Ministry of Transportation and Communications could gradually allow heavy motorcycles with a cylinder displacement of more than 550cm3 onto highways — even naming freeways 6, 8 and 3 as the sites for priority trials,” he said. “However, the ministry has dragged its feet over the past five years, failing to take any action.”
Heavy motorcycles with a cylinder displacement of more than 550cm2 comprise the heaviest category of motorcycle under current plating standards, compared with the 51cm3 to 250cm3 cylinder displacement for ordinary scooters.
While motorcycles with a cylinder displacement of more than 250cm3 are already allowed on the nation’s expressways, all motorcycles are banned from all of the freeways.
“Under the current law, the nation’s roads could be opened, but the government has refused to implement the amendments and has even sought to pit different kinds of motorists against each other,” Lim said, calling the ministry’s unwillingness “administrative laziness.”
The Taiwan Scooter Road Rights Promotion Association (台灣機車路權促進會) earlier this week initiated an online protest ride movement against the government’s failure to implement trial openings, with its Facebook event drawing more than 1,000 online participants.
The group estimates that more than 300 people across the nation participated, based on photographs and videos posted to the event page, although earlier estimates place the figure at more than 1,000.
The Directorate-General of Highways said that any motorcyclist caught on a freeway would be fined between NT$3,000 and NT$6,000, adding that freeways had not been opened because of safety concerns and low levels of public support.
Survey results published by the Chinese-language Apple Daily earlier this week found that 13 percent of respondents favored opening freeways to heavy motorcycles, while 81 percent were opposed.
Additional reporting by CNA
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