A proposed amendment would ban drivers who operate a vehicle without a license from taking the license test for life if their driving kills or injures someone, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday.
The ministry yesterday briefed lawmakers in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee about its plan to tackle forged licensed plates and curb a rise of unlicensed drivers.
The police have reported about 300,000 incidents of unlicensed drivers annually in the past three years, which includes about 39,000 involving minors, the ministry said.
Photo: Tsai Yun-jung, Taipei Times
If a minor is found to have contravened traffic regulations, their legal guardians would be notified immediately, and both of them would be asked to attend defensive driving courses, it said.
The proposed amendment to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例) stipulates a maximum fine for unlicensed drivers of NT$36,000, up from NT$24,000, and their vehicles would be confiscated on the spot. The minimum fine for those who were caught driving without a license two or more times within five years would be NT$36,000.
The suspension period of vehicle license plates would also be extended for unlicensed motorcyclists and those driving vehicles, commercial trucks or buses without a license, the proposal says.
License plates of first-time offenders would be suspended for three months, which would be extended to six months if they were caught driving without a license twice within five years.
Those found to have contravened the regulations three or more times would have their license plates suspended for one year, and their vehicle and license would be removed from them immediately.
Unlicensed drivers or those driving with a suspended, revoked or invalid license would not be able to take a driver’s license test for four years. They would be banned from taking the tests for life if they cause accidents leading to deaths or severe personnel injuries.
Fines for unlicensed minors and their legal guardians would be increased, and the suspension period of their license plates would be extended as well.
Meanwhile, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) pledged to improve the lighting at pedestrian crossings at night to reduce casualties.
Legislators questioned Chen on pedestrian safety issues after a woman in Taipei was dragged under a bus and killed while crossing a street on Sunday. Although the bus had stopped for the woman and her husband to cross the street, it was pushed forward after it was rear-ended by another bus.
The incident occurred after the government had allocated funding and resources in an attempt to counter Taiwan’s reputation as a “living hell for pedestrians.”
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said the number of pedestrian deaths from 6pm to 6am are almost double those recorded during the daytime, citing data from the transportation ministry.
As of September, there were 19 A1-category accidents from 6am to 6pm, in which victims died within 24 hours, but that number rose to 30 during the period from 6pm to 6am, he said.
Many drivers claim they did not see pedestrians in the darkness, he said.
In addition to improving lightning at pedestrian crossings, many countries have installed devices to force drivers to slow down, Lin said.
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