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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》Road changes up to local officials: MOTC
RULES OF THE ROAD: Opening more lanes to bikers and motorcyclists and left-turn rules are something that local authorities have the right to decide for their areas
By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
Local governments have the authority to decide if they want to designate road lanes that cannot be accessed by motorcyclists or bicyclists, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications （MOTC） said yesterday.
Its think tank, the Institute of Transportation, is researching ways for different vehicles to share roads safely and efficiently, the ministry said in a statement.
Suggestions made through the government’s Public Policy Online Participation Platform have called for eliminating lanes that are closed to bikes and motorcycles and canceling rules requiring bike riders to make a hook turn at an intersection if they want to turn left.
Bikers and bicyclists wishing to turn left must first go to the right-hand side of the intersection with the road they wish turn onto and wait in a designated spot for the light to turn green.
Proponents said such measures would help prevent motorcyclists or bikers from colliding with vehicles illegally parked on sides of roads and would also help increase the number of street-level parking spaces.
Motorcyclists should not have to make a hook turn if they want to turn left, as waiting at a designated spot puts them at risk of being hit by vehicles coming from their left, the proponents said.
Motorcyclists should be allowed to go into the left lane if they want to turn left, just as they enter right-hand lanes if they want to turn right, proponents said.
As the proposal involves the local government authority’s in designing traffic plans, the ministry said it has sought input from city and county government officials, the National Police Agency, the Directorate-General of Highways and the institute.
Representatives from these agencies, as well as the proponents of the policy change, met on May 26 to discuss the proposals, the ministry said.
Meeting participants considered several factors, including differences in traffic between the rural and urban areas, different driving habits in the north and south, the ministry said.
Different intersections within a city or a county also present different challenges, participants said.
“The central government should respect local road authorities in the plans they use to facilitate the traffic in their localities, which should be designed to enhance the road safety and efficiency of traffic management. Local governments can decide if they want to designate or eliminate no-bike lanes or remove the traffic signs or lines requiring motorcyclists to make hook turns when they want to turn left. There is no need to amend the current [national] regulations, as they have given local governments the flexibility to do so,” the ministry said.
Several cities and counties have begun to conduct trials in which motorcyclists are not required to make a hook turn when they want to turn left at intersections, the ministry said.
Taipei is implementing the policy at 42 intersections, the ministry said.
Taipei’s measure has helped reduce the number of traffic accidents at 25 intersections, but increased accidents in 17 of them, the ministry added.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
