Icons for motorcycles and bicycles must be marked on all slow lanes in the future to facilitate public identification.

(File photo; synthesized by this newspaper)

[Reporter Zheng Weiqi/Taipei Report] Some people stop when they see a white line on the side of the road, but unexpectedly they will be billed for illegal parking!

It turns out that the white line is the "fast and slow lane dividing line", not the sideline of the road surface. The parking place is actually the "slow lane", not the shoulder or the outside of the road surface.

In this regard, the Regulations Committee of the Ministry of Communications has passed the amendment to Article 183-1 of the "Rules for Setting up Road Traffic Signs and Markings". It is expected to be officially announced by the end of this year. ; However, due to the time required for the designation, a buffer period will be given.

According to the regulations, the solid white line on the road is 10 cm wide, which belongs to the dividing line between fast and slow lanes. The right side of the white line belongs to the slow lane, and locomotives can drive on it; if the white line is 15 cm wide, it is the sideline of the road surface. Park on the right side of the road.

However, because they are all white lines, it is difficult to identify whether it is a dividing line or a side line at a glance, which is easy to cause confusion.

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In addition to stopping when seeing the white line, I did not expect to be fined for parking outside the dividing line between the fast and slow lanes. In April 2020 in Kaohsiung City, a rider drove outside the white solid line on Chenggong Road in Qiaotou District and hit a car parked on the side of the road. The police investigated It was found that the width of the white line is more than 15 cm, which is the edge line of the road surface. The outside of the white line belongs to the shoulder of the road and can be parked. Passing the sideline" violation ticket.

When an accident occurs while driving on the shoulder of the road, the rider is not only injured but also faces compensation. According to Article 45 of the "Regulations on Road Traffic Management Penalties", a fine of 600 to 1,800 yuan can be imposed for driving out of the sideline at will.

Lin Fushan, director of the Department of Road Affairs of the Ministry of Communications, said that the Regulations Committee of the Ministry of Communications has passed the amendment to the rules for setting up signs and markings. Icons for bicycles and motorcycles must be drawn on the slow lanes to facilitate the public to judge whether it is the slow lane or the shoulder; it is expected that by the end of this year The announcement will be corrected. However, it takes time for the road authority to designate the map. We are now asking the local government how long it will take to designate. A buffer period will be given when the rules are revised.

The Ministry of Communications pointed out that after the revision of the regulations, in the future, the slow lanes will need to draw motorcycle patterns and bicycle patterns side by side from left to right. Every intersection must be marked at the entrance, and every 500 meters in the road section must be added. Group.

As for how long it will take to designate, the Ministry of Communications has consulted with the six metropolises. The one that takes the longest is Taipei City. The city government responded that considering the budget issue and the need to designate a lot of road sections, it is estimated that it will take 3 years to complete the designation. ; New Taipei City estimates 7 months, Taoyuan City 1 year, Tainan City 2 years, and Taichung and Kaohsiung are still under evaluation.

How long the buffer period will be given in the final regulations will be discussed and finalized after gathering the opinions of local governments.

Icons for motorcycles and bicycles must be marked on all slow lanes in the future to facilitate public identification.

(file photo)

The Ministry of Communications pointed out that the amendment process has been completed, and it is expected to announce before the end of the year that in the future slow lanes must be marked with locomotive and bicycle icons.

(Photo by reporter Zheng Weiqi)