Taiwanese coalition urges direct law amendment over traffic fine referendum

Taiwan's "Taiwan Forward Front" coalition is urging lawmakers to directly amend traffic laws rather than wait for a public referendum on dedicating traffic fine revenue to road safety. The group argues that despite increasing fines and traffic enforcement, road safety has not improved, and accident fatalities remain high.

"The fines are increasing, but traffic fatalities are not decreasing. The Legislative Yuan should amend the law immediately, without further delay," the coalition stated at a press conference. They highlighted that while Taiwan collects over 20 billion NT dollars annually in traffic fines, only 12% is currently mandated for road safety improvements and enforcement, with the remainder largely allocated to local governments. The coalition believes this insufficient allocation is the root cause of the ongoing safety problems.

Representatives from the coalition, including those from the New Power Party, Taiwan Statebuilding Party, Taiwan Green Party, and the Organization of Social Democratic Housewives, pointed out that Taiwan's fine density is 20 times that of Japan, yet its traffic fatality rate is five times higher. They attribute this disparity to Japan's policy of dedicating 100% of traffic fines to road safety facilities, contrasting it with Taiwan's minimal allocation. They advocate for prioritizing road engineering, traffic safety education, and focusing enforcement on high-risk behaviors like drunk driving and failure to yield to pedestrians, rather than solely expanding technological enforcement equipment.

The coalition also called for greater transparency, requesting that the government de-identify and publicly release detailed violation data. This, they argue, would enable experts to better analyze accident causes, times, and locations, leading to more effective accident reduction strategies. They criticized the slow pace of administrative execution for road improvements, citing delays of six to eight months or even over a year for projects, often due to high civil servant turnover and insufficient construction capacity.

“

The fines are increasing, but traffic fatalities are not decreasing. The Legislative Yuan should amend the law immediately, without further delay.