《TAIPEI TIMES》 Traffic deaths in first nine months decline

By Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNA

Deaths from traffic incidents from January to September decreased by 42 to 2,224 from the same period last year, underscoring the success of the government’s road safety policies, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday.

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There were 31,603 traffic incidents in September — the latest month for which data were available — with 41,942 injuries and 233 deaths, Department of Railways, Highways and Road Safety Deputy Director-General Huang Yun-kui （黃運貴） said.

The death toll from July to September was down 137 from the same period last year, Huang said.

The death tolls so far this year from incidents involving scooter riders, elderly people, drunk drivers and pedestrians all dropped compared with the same period last year, he said.

Deaths from incidents involving scooter riders dropped the most, he said.

Nantou County was the worst-performing administrative region in terms of death toll from January to September, he said.

At the other extreme, New Taipei City’s toll dropped by 46 people from last year, Huang added.

Tainan was the worst-performing special municipality in September, with deaths from road incidents rising by six from the same month last year, while Taichung’s death toll in the month dropped by 13, he said.

Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kuo-tsai （王國材） said that there was a spike in traffic incidents in the first half of this year, but there has been a significant improvement in the second half.

The ministry would step up efforts to help Nantou County with road safety and is also to assist in other areas, such as Taitung City and Miaoli County, Wang said.

While the data for last month might not show a downward trend, the figures for this month should show a general decrease, Wang said, adding that the ministry would continue to work to prevent more incidents and decrease the mortality rates next month.

The ministry is also proposing measures that would help manage tour buses and other large vehicles, he said.

Huang said that 53 percent of pedestrian deaths occurred at pedestrian crossings, with elderly people the majority of those killed.

The numbers indicate that efforts to promote awareness among drivers to yield to pedestrians should be prioritized, he said.

Separately, the ministry has printed 30,000 booklets on traffic safety for elderly people and has begun distributing them with the goal to decrease the accident rate, it said.

The ministry will continue to work with professional drivers to ensure they have reasonable means to pick up and drop off passengers or cargo without contravening traffic laws, Wang said.

Department of Railways and Highways Director Lin Fu-san （林福山） said that legislators have to address the issue of limiting the number of times that a member of the public can report traffic incidents.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES