Cabinet eyes road safety guidelinesWALKING DISTANCE: Forty-six percent of roads 12m or longer do not have sidewalks, and fully addressing it would take 100 years, an Executive Yuan official saidBy Chung Li-hua / Staff reporterTraffic guidelines that prioritize pedestrian safety are to be passed at a weekly Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) said yesterday. The guidelines detail the government’s plan to clear the nation’s reputation of being a “hell for pedestrians” through road construction, technology and education, he said. “We need to enhance the safety of pedestrians, as more than 300 pedestrians die in traffic accidents each year, and the issue needs to be tackled through better road design, safety at intersections and education,” he said. The Executive Yuan last year approved the appropriation of NT$5 billion to enhance road safety around 446 primary school campuses, which would be enforced this year. This year, agencies are to focus on four key enforcement priorities: improving the pedestrian environment on 100km of roads, enhancing safety at 1,218 intersections, eliminating obstacles for pedestrians at 161 locations and establishing 25 pilot areas for road safety.
