Big LED billboards have been erected on many roads in Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City, but drivers say that the dazzling light they emit at night is having a bad effect on driving safety. People living nearby also complain that the billboards are so bright that they disturb their sleep late into the night, and they hope the situation can be improved. When we talked to the county’s Environmental Protection Bureau, however, their response was that there is no law available to deal with the problem.
The Environmental Protection Bureau say that they often receive complaints from members of the public that the LED billboards are too bright. With regard to this problem, the Environmental Protection Administration has drawn up a draft law on promoting environmental cleanliness, greenery and beautification that would impose controls on light pollution. However, the law has not yet been enacted, and is still at the stage of deliberation in the legislature, so at present the authorities can only urge billboard operators to turn down the brightness.
Do LED billboards actually have any impact on traffic safety? The Hsinchu County Police Bureau’s Traffic Police Brigade says that there has been no noticeable increase in traffic accidents on roads where electronic billboards have been set up, and currently there is no proof of a positive correlation between billboards and traffic accidents. Nonetheless, the Traffic Police Brigade reminds the public that paying attention to road conditions and traffic signs is vitally important.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Julian Clegg)
Photo: Wang Chun-chieh, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者王駿杰
新竹縣竹北市許多路段都設立大型LED廣告電子看板，但有駕駛反映，夜間閃爍的強光嚴重影響行車安全，附近住戶也抱怨，亮眼程度已經影響深夜睡眠，希望能改善，記者詢問縣環保局，得到的答案卻是無法可管。
縣環保局表示，常接獲民眾投訴檢舉LED廣告電子看板燈太亮，對此環保署已經制定「環境整潔綠美化促進法」草案，對光害進行管制，但尚未立法，還在送交立法院審理階段，目前只能向業者勸說，調低亮度。
LED電子看板是否影響行車安全？新竹縣警察局交通隊表示，這些設立電子看板的路段，車禍發生的次數並無顯著提升，目前也無法證實交通事故與看板兩者間是否有關，但提醒民眾，行車時務必要注意路況與交通號誌。
（自由時報記者王駿杰）
A: I’ve been a fan of singer Jay Chou for 24 years, since his debut in 2000. B: But this time, his Taipei Dome concerts have shed light on the issue of ticket scalping. A: Isn’t the law stricter after being amended last year? B: Yeah, ticket scalping is illegal, even if you only raise the price by NT$1 when reselling. A: Why aren’t scalpers afraid of getting caught? Maybe a real-name ticketing system would be better. A: 自從周杰倫2000年出道以來，我都已經追星24年了。 B: 不過這次大巨蛋開唱，他卻引爆黃牛票問題。 A: 去年修法後，法規不是變得比較嚴格？ B: 是啊，就算加價1元轉賣也算違法！ A: 黃牛們怎麼都抓不怕？或許票券「實名制」會更有用。 （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
When a large group of people struggles to reach a consensus, voting is often used to help make a decision. Surprisingly, humans are not the only animals that exhibit this type of democratic tendency. Several different species of animals demonstrate similar voting behavior. One of the most notable examples of animals engaging in this activity involves African buffalo. Ecologist Herbert Prins first observed herds of African buffalo performing voting behavior in the 1990s. Groups of African buffalo would pause under the intense midday sun and rest until dusk. Prins noticed that some buffalo would periodically stand up and gaze
UK lawmakers voted on Nov. 29 in favor of assisted dying for terminally ill people in England and Wales, advancing the emotive and contentious legislation to the next stage of parliamentary scrutiny. MPs voted by 330 to 275 in support of legalized euthanasia in the first vote on the issue in the House of Commons for nearly a decade. The result came following an emotionally-charged debate that lasted almost five hours in a packed and hushed chamber, and as competing protestors made their voices heard outside parliament. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill now progresses to the committee
Continued from yesterday（延續自昨日） https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang The African buffalo’s voting system is straightforward. One buffalo initiates the process by getting up, looking intently in a particular direction, and lying back down. If other buffalo agree with this choice, they will mimic this behavior. Conversely, buffalo with a differing preference will face their desired location. Ultimately, the direction favored by the majority dictates where the herd will graze that evening. Not all buffalo are involved in the decision-making process, though. It’s primarily the adult females of the herd that participate. The voting system displays a certain level of fairness because the status of each buffalo in
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