【Kaohsiung News】On December 31, 2023, Chen Chi-Mai, the mayor of Kaohsiung City, hosted the 7th Traffic Safety Supervision Meeting. In addition to being briefed the sidewalk improvement project carried out by the Road Maintenance Office, Public Works Bureau, Kaohsiung City Government and a report on the summer motorbike driving training promotion project by the Motor Vehicles Office, he instructed the Transportation Bureau, the Police Department, and the Motor Vehicles Office to promote preventive measures in the second half of the year based on the characteristics of accidents in the respective months. In conjunction with the concept of “Slow down, Watch out, and Stop: Pedestrian safety” promoted by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications during the Traffic Safety Month in September, it is hoped that the Transportation Bureau's goal of a 5% reduction in fatalities can be attained in 2023.
During the meeting, the Transportation Bureau presented a “statistical analysis of traffic accidents” for the first half of 2023: In the first half of 2023, the number of A1 accidents in Kaohsiung City reached 80, a decrease of 21 compared to the same period the previous year, and the largest decrease in the number of accidents among the six municipalities. The second half of the year, such as September, was characterized by a high number of accidents involving groups issued their driver's license for the first time. In October and November, the focus was on senior citizens, and in December, it was on preventing drink driving. Mayor Chen instructed the city government to maintain vigilance and to continue collaborating with bureaus and offices to ensure the safety of city residents.
According to Mayor Chen, the city government is fully supportive of the right-of-way for pedestrians’ rally on July 22, at which a student organization advocated for people-centered road planning, driver's license system, law enforcement, and other traffic safety issues. The Kaohsiung City Government will continue its efforts to improve the pedestrian environment so that pedestrians will feel more confident and safer when walking on the road. In order to establish a people-centered platform for communicating with students about traffic, Mayor Chen also mandated that from August, student representatives be invited to participate in the traffic safety supervision meeting, hence establishing more diverse dialogue channels.
During the meeting, the Road Maintenance Office also presented a project report on accident prevention and control. Zuoying Avenue and Huasia Road in Zuoying District, as well as Chengyi Road in Sanmin District, were improved a series of measures which included sidewalk widening, flattening, intersection and corner expansion. This year, the Road Maintenance Office requested a NT$700 million subsidy from the Central Government to improve sidewalks and the pedestrian traffic environment. The Motor Vehicles Office conducted an investigation into the promotion of motorcycle rider training. From 2019 to 2022, the number of individuals participating in motorcycle training will increase annually. Subsidies of NT$1300 and NT$1200 are provided for motorbike driving training and road safety driving training, respectively.
Chang Shu-Chuan, Director-general of Transportation Bureau, added that in the first half of 2023, the number of fatalities in Kaohsiung decreased by 21 people (-21%) compared to the same period the previous year. In the first half of 2023; the number of pedestrian deaths on the A1 category was five, a decrease of three (-38%) compared to the same period the previous year. The majority of targeted groups demonstrated a decline, and the Transportation Bureau and other city government bureaus will continue their efforts to improve various traffic safety issues.
(Handling office: Wen Che-Chin, Director of Transportation and Planning Section 0916-717-728)
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