Parents are encouraged to buy bicycles certified as safe by the government if they are to carry children on them, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, one year after an amendment to Article 76 of the Road Traffic and Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例) was implemented.
The amendment requires cyclists, who must be 18 years of age or older, to carry no more than one child while cycling, adding that they must ride bicycles or electric power-auxiliary bicycles that are certified by the government to be safe.
The rules also state that a child’s seat installed at the front of a bicycle should be used for children aged one to four and weighing less than 15kg, while a seat at the rear should be used for children aged one to six and weighing less than 22kg.
Photo: Cheng Wei-chi, Taipei Times
Cyclists contravening the rules would face a fine of NT$300 to NT$600, the act says.
Bicycles to carry children should have passed the TBIS007 safety inspection, the ministry said.
The Vehicle Safety Certification Center is designated by the ministry to issue certification labels for bicycles that pass the inspection, it said, adding that the labels should be visible on bikes as well as child seats.
Child safety seats to be installed on bicycles should also pass Taiwan’s CNS15978 national safety standard, the ministry said.
Two types of bicycles, two types of electric power-auxiliary bicycles and six types of child seats have passed national safety inspections after the amendment to the act was implemented on March 1 last year, Department of Railways and Highways Director-General Chen Wen-ruey (陳文瑞) said.
That means there are 24 combinations of bike and seat, he said, adding that the information on certified bicycles and seats can be viewed on the center’s Web site at www.vscc.org.tw.
So far, the center has issued only 1,500 certification labels, which means that the ministry should spend more time promoting the use of safe bicycles among parents with children, Chen said.
All of the certified bicycles are made by Taiwanese manufacturer Giant, with prices ranging from NT$7,000 to NT$40,000.
Certified seats are made by Bobike and Irbani, with costs varying from NT$3,000 to NT$8,000.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) yesterday apologized after the suicide of a civil servant earlier this month and announced that a supervisor accused of workplace bullying would be demoted. On Nov. 4, a 39-year-old information analyst at the Workforce Development Agency’s (WDA) northern branch, which covers greater Taipei and Keelung, as well as Yilan, Lienchiang and Kinmen counties, was found dead in their office. WDA northern branch director Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容), who has been accused of involvement in workplace bullying, would be demoted to a nonsupervisory position, Ho told a news conference in Taipei. WDA Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) said he would
RSS