A number of traffic accidents that happened a while ago broke people’s hearts, and people started talking about Taiwan being “a living hell for pedestrians.”
To deal with the issue, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications has released a series of measures to ensure pedestrians’ safety. These measures have been applied since June 30.
However, shortly after the new rules had been implemented, several video clips revealing some pedestrians’ bad behavior were posted on the Internet. In these clips, some pedestrians were staring at their phones with their heads down when crossing the road; others were deliberately walking at a much slower pace; others still were intentionally standing on the crosswalk without moving forward. Due to these bad manners, the public started to believe that the new traffic measures would not work, and the “pedestrian first” rules would only cause more traffic problems and accidents.
For most of the time, I am a pedestrian. A month after the measures came into effect, I would like to share my feelings about the rules.
When I cross the road these days, almost every car lets me pass first. Before the new measures, I would be intimidated by scooters coming so close toward me, but over the past month, this did not happen as frequently as before. Most drivers abided by rules and stopped before a crosswalk. This means a lot for pedestrians, who feel much safer than before.
I do not have any concrete data proving that the number of traffic accidents has decreased, but I have personally experienced that pedestrians’ rights are now valued more highly. When I cross the road at a quicker pace, I always nod to show my gratitude to drivers who give way, and most of them respond to my gesture. This behavior is mutual, which would allow both sides to feel respected and loved.
I also hope that all pedestrians can be more focused instead of checking their phones on the crosswalk, and no one should waste drivers’ time on purpose. Doing this would protect the pedestrians’ own safety as well.
Ridding Taiwan of the notoriety of being “a living hell for pedestrians” is not an easy task. There might be a need to evaluate whether it is feasible to regulate pedestrian conduct or implement pedestrian-only signals.
However, at this moment people can say for sure that the government has made a good start.
Wu Tsai-fang
Taipei
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