An open road test might be added to the license exam for scooters, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) said on Thursday, as new data again showed scooter accidents to be the leading cause of road fatalities.
At present, scooter drivers must take a written and a closed-course driving test to obtain a license.
After getting their license drivers are immediately thrust into a complicated traffic landscape, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) told a news conference to release the latest traffic accident data.
Photo: CNA
He has therefore instructed the Directorate-General of Highways to assess ways to improve the test, potentially by adding an open road drive, he said.
In the meantime, the ministry is stepping up other safety efforts, such as management of unmarked intersections, education on right-of-way, public transportation in remote areas for the elderly and scooter safety education in schools, he said.
The ministry this year established a traffic safety action group to provide guidance for areas with worsening traffic and investigate solutions for the top three at-risk groups: scooter drivers, the elderly and drunk drivers, Wang said.
As its drunk driving initiatives have shown positive results, it is focusing next on scooter drivers, he said.
In the first seven months of the year, 209,616 accidents were reported, causing 1,735 deaths and 278,171 injuries, ministry data showed.
The figures represent increases of 9,881 accidents, 43 deaths and 12,414 injuries from the same period last year.
The disparity is largely the result of last year’s level 3 COVID-19 alert, with traffic casualties sharply declining in June and July last year, the ministry said.
However, monthly numbers have been trending down and continue to be lower than in previous years, it said, predicting that casualties this year might be 5 percent lower than last year.
Of the 1,735 deaths, 1,124 were driving motorbikes, an increase of 108 from the same period last year.
Meanwhile, 675 were elderly, or 20 more than last year, while 155 were found to have been drinking, down by 21 from last year.
Changhua County had the most traffic deaths at 36, followed by New Taipei City (35), Kaohsiung (21), Hsinchu County (13) and Pingtung County (13).
Additional reporting by Cheng Wei-chi
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