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Updated Wednesday, February 1, 2012 0:25 am TWN, CNA



	A police officer inspects a taxi in Taipei, yesterday. Police forces will step up checks to see if passengers in the back seats of cars are wearing seat belts, as mandated by a new law that takes effect today. (CNA) Enlarge Photo

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Police to step up checks for new rear seat belt law

TAIPEI--Police forces around Taiwan will step up checks in the coming days to see if passengers in the back seats of cars are wearing seat belts, as mandated by a new law that takes effect today.

The spot checks will continue through Friday to ensure that people are aware of the implementation of the new regulation, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) said yesterday.

Violators could face fines of between NT$1,500 (US$50) and NT$6,000, according to the MOTC, which is the regulatory agency overseeing the measure.

Drivers on city streets or highways will be fined NT$1,500 if their back seat passengers do not buckle up, and for vehicles on tollways and expressways, the fines will range from NT$3,000 to NT$6,000, the ministry said.

The impetus for the new regulation was a traffic accident in Taipei in early 2011 that led to the death of Nora Sun, a granddaughter of the Republic of China's founding father Sun Yat sen.

Sun was sitting in the back seat of a minivan without a seat belt when the crash occurred, and she sustained severe injuries after being thrown forward that she eventually succumbed to, creating new momentum for passage of the seat belt law.

The ministry also backed the need for the new law by citing studies showing that the traffic-related death rate for rear seat passengers who do not wear seat belts is 2.7 times higher than for those who do.

According to a poll commissioned by the ministry in November, support for the new regulation is strong. Nearly 89 percent of the poll's respondents said they understood the regulations, and 90 percent said they would abide by them.

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Comments

February 1, 2012 ludahai_twn@

The KMT solution to Taiwan's problems:

1. Pass a law
2. Enforce it for a week
3. Ignore it afterward
4. When someone complains the government isn't doing anything, point to the law
5. Ignore complaints that the law is not being enforced

February 2, 2012 elumpen@

Maybe while they're about it, they could hand out tickets for the other 9 million (or so) daily instances of reckless driving, dangerous parking, and general vehicular mayhem.

February 8, 2012 johnny.brian@

The rear seat belt is absolutely unnecessary for the vehicle is traveling inside the huge city because the average speed is not over 60 Kph. It is not a good general public safety and inadvisable for older vehicle (it does not fit well). I will agree the rear seat belt is a must or becomes a law for vehicle travels more than 60kph and at highway. Stupid and Useless Law, but effective way to earn money from drivers.

February 8, 2012 carltanong@

ludahai_twn@ wrote:
The KMT solution to Taiwan's problems:

1. Pass a law
2. Enforce it for a week
3. Ignore it afterward
4. When someone complains the government isn't doing anything, point to the law
5. Ignore complaints that the law is not being enforced

ludahai_nippon
Takateru Tomoyori, boy friend of Makiyo. Has beaten up our Taiwanese taxi driver and was now in the I.C.U. Could you mind tell us which law should be applied to punish TT. Taiwanese or Japanese LAW?

February 9, 2012 ludahai_twn@

Taiwanese law, of course. How is this even relevant to the fact that there are many traffic laws on the books already related to safety that are simply not enforced (or are done so only sporadically)?

February 9, 2012 carltanong@

Good. ludahai_nippon. Finally you have open up your mind to accept our Taiwanese traffic law. Don't forget to fastened your seatbelt when riding in the car private or public, or using your helmet riding in your own scooter for your own safety.

February 9, 2012 edrulyn@

I am really very amused reading the exchanges of comments between ludahai-nippon and carltanong. Keep it up men. You made my day....hehehehehe!!

February 10, 2012 ludahai_twn@

You make up things all the time. I have always accepted the traffic laws. Unfortunately, many Taiwanese drivers DON'T! And, for the record, I rarely drive a car or ride a scooter... Now, if you could convince Taiwanese to follow traffic laws, that would be much appreciated.

February 10, 2012 butter@

carltanong@ wrote:
Good. ludahai_nippon. Finally you have open up your mind to accept our Taiwanese traffic law. Don't forget to fastened your seatbelt when riding in the car private or public, or using your helmet riding in your own scooter for your own safety.

You misunderstood his earlier comment. The problem isn't the law; the problem is poor enforcement of the law, and his feeling is that this will be like all the other traffic laws that are also poorly enforced.

February 10, 2012 butter@

johnny.brian@ wrote:
The rear seat belt is absolutely unnecessary for the vehicle is traveling inside the huge city because the average speed is not over 60 Kph. It is not a good general public safety and inadvisable for older vehicle (it does not fit well). I will agree the rear seat belt is a must or becomes a law for vehicle travels more than 60kph and at highway. Stupid and Useless Law, but effective way to earn money from drivers.

This is false. The issue isn't your speed; it's your speed relative to the car you hit/that hit you.

The impact of a car going 70kph hitting a car going 60kph in the same direction is far less than a car going 40kph hitting a car that's going 10kph, or a car that's going in a different direction and gets hit in the side. Rear seat belts are absolutely necessary if you want to reduce injury and/or not die.

February 10, 2012 elumpen@

Ah well, Mr. Brian - you're quite a liberty to not fasten your seatbelt if you think that's somehow advantageous. This is referred to as "natural selection".

February 10, 2012 carltanong@

ludahai_twn@ wrote:
You make up things all the time. I have always accepted the traffic laws. Unfortunately, many Taiwanese drivers DON'T! And, for the record, I rarely drive a car or ride a scooter... Now, if you could convince Taiwanese to follow traffic laws, that would be much appreciated.

ludahai_nippon-Though the fact is that a few Taiwanese drivers have violated the Traffic law, they did not gang up on somebody like the Japanese DUO does. That proved more Japanese drivers violated theirs own Traffic law.

Could you mind answering my question in the article of VIDEO SHOW MAKIO......plsssss.

February 10, 2012 thereferee@

butter@l
carl February 8, 2012..
ludahai_nippon
Takateru Tomoyori, boy friend of Makiyo, has beaten up our Taiwanese taxi driver and was now in the I.C.U. Could you mind tell us which law should be applied to punish TT. Taiwanese or Japanese LAW?

ludahai_nippon respond February 9, 2012.
Taiwanese law, of course. How is this even relevant to the fact that there are many traffic laws on the books already related to safety that are simply not enforced (or are done so only sporadically)?

carl responds February 9, 2012
Good. ludahai_nippon. Finally you have open up your mind to accept our Taiwanese traffic law. Don't forget to fasten your seatbelt when riding in the car private or public, or using your helmet riding in your own scooter for your own safety.

ludahai February 10, 2012
You make up things all the time. I have always accepted the traffic laws. Unfortunately, many Taiwanese drivers DON'T! And, for the record, I rarely drive a car or ride a scooter... Now, if you could convince Taiwanese to follow traffic laws, that would be much appreciated

ludahai comments showed he twisted our Taiwanese law by changing the topic to escape carl’s argument of Mikayo’s boy friend’s act of criminality against our taxicab driver.

February 11, 2012 curtisakbar@

Johnny you're an idiot, seatbelts save lives. Not only do they protect the person wearing it, but they protect everyone in the car. If one idiot doesn't wear a seatbelt, they could end up killing everyone in the car as the smash into them during a crash. Perhaps you need to sit in my class when I teach road safety to kids. It's not how fast you're going, it's the mass, velocity of the impact. Being crashed into by a small car going 20khp won't do much but imagine if it's not a small car but a bus.

February 11, 2012 carltanong@

butter@
Wrong as u say "The impact of a car going 70kph hitting a car going 60kph in the same direction is far than a car going 40kph hitting a car that's going 10kph, or a car that's going in a different direction and gets hit in the side".

It should be “cutting the deceleration in half also cuts the force of impact in half" means if the car speed are NOT in acceleration of high velocity, the Force of impact will decrease and fatal in causing death or injuries..

Everyone agree that all occupants in the front and rear seat in the car should fastened their seatbelt and factory installed AIRBAG. And maintaining your car from a qualified MECHANICS or from your car dealers.

February 29, 2012 butter@

carltanong@ wrote:
butter@
Wrong as u say "The impact of a car going 70kph hitting a car going 60kph in the same direction is far than a car going 40kph hitting a car that's going 10kph, or a car that's going in a different direction and gets hit in the side".

It should be “cutting the deceleration in half also cuts the force of impact in half" means if the car speed are NOT in acceleration of high velocity, the Force of impact will decrease and fatal in causing death or injuries..

Everyone agree that all occupants in the front and rear seat in the car should fastened their seatbelt and factory installed AIRBAG. And maintaining your car from a qualified MECHANICS or from your car dealers.

You are referring to crumple zones, not relative speeds. Another example would be one car traveling 60kph that hits the back of another car traveling 50kph on the highway, vs two cars both traveling at 30kph that have a head-on collision while in the city. This is why you need to wear seatbelts even if you're driving in the city. This is completely unrelated to crumple zones, which is what you're talking about.

Do you even read the comments you reply to, or do you just try to find random facts to try to appear intelligent?

March 1, 2012 carltanong@

<<@butter February 10, 2012 This is false. The issue isn't your speed; it's your speed relative to the car you hit/that hit you.
The impact of a car going 70kph hitting a car going 60kph in the same direction is far less than a car going 40kph hitting a car that's going 10kph, or a car that's going in a different direction and gets hit in the side. Rear seat belts are absolutely necessary if you want to reduce injury and/or not die>>.

My response of February 11, 2012
Wrong as u say "The impact of a car going 70kph hitting a car going 60kph in the same direction is far than a car going 40kph hitting a car that's going 10kph, or a car that's going in a different direction and gets hit in the side".
It should be “cutting the deceleration in half also cuts the force of impact in half" means if the car speed are NOT in acceleration of high velocity, the Force of impact will decrease and fatal in causing death or injuries.
Everyone agree that all occupants in the front and rear seat in the car should fastened their seatbelt and factory installed AIRBAG. And maintaining your car from a qualified MECHANICS or from your car dealers.

<You are referring to crumple zones, not relative speeds. Another example would be one car traveling 60kph that hits the back of another car traveling 50kph on the highway, vs two cars both traveling at 30kph that have a head-on collision while in the city. This is why you need to wear seatbelts even if you're driving in the city. This is completely unrelated to crumple zones, which is what you're talking about.
Do you even read the comments you reply to, or do you just try to find random facts to try to appear intelligent?>>

Your arguments of February 10 contradict from your February 29,

REMEMBER butter.
I was in the car showroom at that time........It's the car dealer expert......you LOSS.

March 3, 2012 man520201@

What about the people traveling on busses and trains?

March 6, 2012 butter@

carltanong@ wrote:
<<@butter February 10, 2012 This is false. The issue isn't your speed; it's your speed relative to the car you hit/that hit you.
The impact of a car going 70kph hitting a car going 60kph in the same direction is far less than a car going 40kph hitting a car that's going 10kph, or a car that's going in a different direction and gets hit in the side. Rear seat belts are absolutely necessary if you want to reduce injury and/or not die>>.

My response of February 11, 2012
Wrong as u say "The impact of a car going 70kph hitting a car going 60kph in the same direction is far than a car going 40kph hitting a car that's going 10kph, or a car that's going in a different direction and gets hit in the side".
It should be “cutting the deceleration in half also cuts the force of impact in half" means if the car speed are NOT in acceleration of high velocity, the Force of impact will decrease and fatal in causing death or injuries.
Everyone agree that all occupants in the front and rear seat in the car should fastened their seatbelt and factory installed AIRBAG. And maintaining your car from a qualified MECHANICS or from your car dealers.

<You are referring to crumple zones, not relative speeds. Another example would be one car traveling 60kph that hits the back of another car traveling 50kph on the highway, vs two cars both traveling at 30kph that have a head-on collision while in the city. This is why you need to wear seatbelts even if you're driving in the city. This is completely unrelated to crumple zones, which is what you're talking about.
Do you even read the comments you reply to, or do you just try to find random facts to try to appear intelligent?>>

Your arguments of February 10 contradict from your February 29,

REMEMBER butter.
I was in the car showroom at that time........It's the car dealer expert......you LOSS.

Then you should read what I replied to, which was a comment saying that seatbelts were unnecessary in the city.

"The rear seat belt is absolutely unnecessary for the vehicle is traveling inside the huge city because the average speed is not over 60 Kph. It is not a good general public safety and inadvisable for older vehicle (it does not fit well). I will agree the rear seat belt is a must or becomes a law for vehicle travels more than 60kph and at highway. Stupid and Useless Law, but effective way to earn money from drivers."

My explanation was that you need seatbelts in the city because of the possibility of head-on collisions and t-bones. This is something you seem to actually agree with, and yet you still want to argue. The phrase you were talking about was for crumple zones, which makes sense why you heard it in a car showroom(this is still a different issue).

You really are the BEST troll - please leave more comments! (ENTERTAINMENT)