A total of 65 deaths occurred within 24 hours of a traffic accident last year in Taipei, the lowest rate in 20 years, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday.
That was a nearly 27 percent decrease from the 89 deaths in 2016, the agency said, but added that small vehicles, with 29 deaths, still caused the greatest number of fatal accidents.
Only about 2 percent of the fatal accidents were caused by drunk driving, the agency said.
Photo: CNA
Of the 65 people that died, 30 were motorcycle riders or passengers, 28 were pedestrians, three were car drivers or passengers, three were cyclists and one was a truck driver or passenger, it said.
Last year, motorcyclist deaths were spread across three age groups: 18 to 25-year-olds (five people), 40 to 49-year-olds (seven people) and 50 to 59-year-olds (five people), the agency said.
In previous years, more than 70 percent of motorcyclist deaths were concentrated in the 18 to 25-year-old group, it added.
Pedestrian deaths were concentrated among those older than 65 (20 people), the agency said, adding that deaths in the car driver or passenger category and cyclist category did not show clear trends.
A total of 28,773 people were injured in the 37,690 traffic accidents that were recorded last year, the department said.
Last year, the department reviewed locations that easily led to accidents or deaths, but also mailed traffic safety pamphlets to the residences of those older than 75, the agency said when asked why the number of accidents had decreased.
The department said it also held forums targeting motorcyclists in the 18 to 25-year-old group at colleges and universities.
It also implemented an ad hoc law enforcement plan to strengthen the use of speed cameras and mobile speed controls for motorcycles at times and locations that motorcyclists were likely to cause accidents, it added.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications uses deaths within 30 days of traffic accidents, rather than deaths within 24 hours, as the standard for its statistics on fatalities and injuries caused by traffic accidents.
The numbers for the whole of last year are still being calculated, the department said, but added that from January to October, 118 deaths occurred within 30 days of a traffic accident, which is still a decrease compared with the 161 deaths in 2015.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
RSS