Motorcyclist Gets Three Tickets and NT$54,000 Fine After Taking the Same Curve Three Times in Five Minutes

A large-motorcycle rider received three dangerous-driving tickets totaling NT$54,000 after repeatedly leaning into the same curve in Miaoli County within five minutes.

The man, identified by his surname Wu, took the curve on Taiwan’s Provincial Highway 3 in Shitan Township at 8:29, 8:32 and 8:34 a.m. on Aug. 31 last year. Officers from the Dahu Police Precinct recorded the rides and issued three tickets, each carrying a NT$18,000 fine.

Wu challenged the penalties in an administrative lawsuit. He argued that his riding did not meet the legal definition of dangerous driving and that issuing three penalties violated the principle against punishing the same act twice.

After reviewing the police footage, the judge found that Wu came close to the center-line restriction and leaned his motorcycle so far that his knee nearly touched the ground on each pass. The court said the riding created risks of a loss of balance, loss of traction, a fall or a collision with oncoming vehicles.

The judge also ruled that the three rides posed new risks to different road users each time. The fact that they occurred within a short period did not make them one violation, so the three penalties could stand separately.