Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) yesterday vowed to reduce pedestrian deaths by 7 percent this year, adding that the ultimate goal is to decrease pedestrian deaths by half by 2030.
Chen briefed lawmakers on the legislature’s Transportation Committee about the ministry’s performance for the first time since taking office earlier this month.
Legislators questioned him about pedestrian safety after a Tunghai University student on Sunday was killed by a city bus while walking on a pedestrian crossing in Taichung.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Ministry statistics showed that 183 pedestrians died in the first half of this year, up 5.8 percent from the same period last year.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Liao Hsien-hsiang (廖先翔) said that the government has spent more than NT$10 billion (US$314 million) to improve pedestrian safety in the past two years, yet pedestrian deaths during the first half of this year were higher than a year earlier.
The ministry should tackle this issue by studying the causes of pedestrian deaths and finding the right remedies, and Chen should set a goal to curb rising pedestrian casualties, Liao said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said that Taichung had the worst road safety record in the first half of this year.
The city was expected to improve safety measures at 63 accident-prone intersections, but as of last month, only four had been completed, Tsai said.
The ministry should take a more aggressive approach against Taichung and other local governments that are slow to address road safety issues, Tsai added.
DPP Legislator Ho Shin-chun (何欣純) said that a high-school student in Taichung was also killed by a bus three years ago.
The central government has worked to improve pedestrian safety, having passed both the Road Traffic Safety Basic Act (道路交通安全基本法) and the Pedestrian Traffic Safety Facilities Act (行人交通安全設施條例) in the legislature last year and this year respectively, Ho said, adding that it has budgeted NT$40 billion to enhance pedestrian safety from this year to 2027.
However, the Taichung City Government does not seem to have kept up with the progress, she said.
Chen said that pedestrian deaths are expected to fall by 7 percent compared with last year, adding that the main goal is to reduce pedestrian deaths by 50 percent by 2030.
“Our analyses showed that 21 percent of pedestrian deaths were caused by drivers failing to yield the right of way, while 19 percent were caused by pedestrians’ failure to follow traffic signs and markings,” Chen said.
About 40 percent of those deaths were elderly people, and 60 percent were killed by motorcycles that did not yield, he said.
Most pedestrian deaths occurred between 6am and 8am, and the early evening hours.
More than 5,000 intersections across the nation are now equipped with signals for leading pedestrian intervals or pedestrian scramble, Chen said.
The ministry is considering using markings of different colors in intersections frequently accessed by elderly pedestrians, he said.
“Because many elderly people do not use the Internet or mobile phones, we are considering increasing the budget for road safety awareness campaigns on television, the print media and local governments,” he said.
The ministry would disclose the name of localities with poor road safety records and ask responsible officials to give regular briefings at the Executive Yuan’s road safety joint meeting, he said.
The death of the Tunghai University student occurred because the bus did not stop for her to cross the road, he said, adding that Taichung should launch more awareness campaigns.
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