離開
進入《TAIPEI TIMES》Tsai urges review of new scooter rule
President Tsai Ing-wen delivers a speech yesterday at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei. Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
By Su Yung-yao, Shelley Shan and Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporters, with staff writer
President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） yesterday called on government agencies to reassess a regulation scheduled to take effect in February to require new motorbikes with an engine displacement of less than 125 cubic centimeters （cc） to be equipped with anti-lock braking systems （ABS） or combined braking systems （CBS）, after public complaints that it would increase the financial burden on riders.
Tsai made the remark at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei.
While the new regulation would raise safety standards, well-intended policies such as this often ignore whether people would be able to handle its financial burden, Tsai said, citing as an example the Air Pollution Control Act （空氣污染防制法）.
Government agencies should reassess the policy and consider whether there are ways to lessen people’s financial burden, she said.
While the government considers public safety, it should also take into account people’s financial status, she added.
Although the new policy was scheduled by the previous administration to take effect next year, Tsai said that her administration has a responsibility to assess whether people can afford the costs associated with it.
Only about 15 percent of new motorbikes sold next year would be affected by the new regulation, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said on Monday.
The ministry yesterday said that it would temporarily halt the implementation of a policy that would require all new motorcycles sold before next year to have ABS or CBS installed by 2021.
The ministry made the announcement after Tsai’s remarks earlier in the day.
The ministry would next year evaluate whether the policy enhances road safety for riders before determining a date for its implementation, Acting Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai （王國材） said.
However, new motorcycles manufactured from next year would still need to be equipped with ABS or CBS, depending on their size, he said.
Wang said that the ministry would also meet with motorcycle manufacturers this afternoon about possible ways to reduce the price of ABS or CBS-equipped motorcycles.
The ministry on Monday said that ABS and CBS became standard equipment when it announced new vehicle safety inspection standards in 2015, which stipulate that motorcycles with an engine displacement of 126cc or larger that are produced from next year must be equipped with ABS, while 125cc or smaller bikes, which account for about 93 percent of registered motorcycles, must be equipped with ABS or CBS.
The ministry said that the new safety standards aim to address an increase in casualties in accidents involving scooters, adding that the standards do not apply to motorcycles that are already in use.
Scooters and motorbikes equipped with ABS or CBS are expected to cost an additional NT$8,000 or NT$1,500 respectively, Wang said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
