The helmet law proved to be an efficient instrument in reduction of road fatalities. Prior to the amendment of the law, a pilot program begun in Taipei City in 1994 which resulted in increasing helmet use from 21% to 79% of motorcycle riders in five months. Within two months after the law took effect, helmet use was nearly 96% nationally, with greater use in Taipei City than in other counties, partly due to greater law enforcement (Skolnik, 2011, p. 308). A latter study conducted by the Institute of Transportation, MOTC (2007) at a closely unspecified intersection on Expressway number 3 found that 98.75% of motorcyclists were using helmet but the variance of helmet use among different counties still remains high. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (2012) conducted a survey in which they asked motorcycle riders whether they rode a motorcycle without wearing a safety helmet in the previous year. The survey then compared Taiwanese counties and cities and ranked them on a scale from 0 to 3 where 0 means that riders used a helmet every time when riding a motorcycle.
Taipei City ranked first with a score of 0.03 and was followed by Keelung City (0.09) and Hsinchu City (0.11). Cities in the southern part of Taiwan showed comparatively lower scores, e.g., Tainan City achieved a score of 0.49, Kaohsiung City had 0.59, and Pingtung County had 1.01. The lowest scores were measured in the eastern part of Taiwan, Hualien County obtained 0.93 and Taitung County only 1.45 points. The results roughly match with death rates in various regions of Taiwan, as discussed in chapter 2.2.6 Fatalities. The situation cannot be considered optimal and there is certainly room for greater law enforcement on part of police administration, especially in the southern and eastern parts of Taiwan.
Research has shown that properly used helmets are more effective and can substantially reduce probability of head injury in an accident. Yu, Chen, Chiu, & Lin (2011) found that “compared with motorcyclists with firmly fastened helmets, those with loosely fastened helmets increased their risk of head injury 1.94 times and were more than twice as likely to have brain injuries.”
It is not only important to enforce helmet use but also to sanction improper use.
Many studies suggested that full helmets which cover the base of the skull and protect the section over the front of the chin are safer than half-shell helmets. Chiu et al. (2000) pointed out that “motorcyclists wearing partial-coverage helmets were 1.76 times more likely to suffer fatal injuries that those wearing full helmets.” A survey conducted by Consumers' Foundation, Chinese Taipei (2010) found that 1% of motorcycle riders in Taiwan use an unspecified type of helmet, 29% use full face helmets, 32% use three-quarters helmets36, and 38% use half-shell helmets. Outlawing half-shell helmets and making use of three-quarters or full face helmets mandatory would likely lead to further improvements in road safety. The same survey also discovered that 13% of motorcycle riders use helmets which did not obtain certification in accordance with National Standards of the Republic of China regulations. Such helmets usually offer significantly lower protection during impact and they should not to be found in stores at all which implies that the effectiveness of commodity inspections is rather restricted.
A survey of bicycle riders carried on by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (2010) showed that 70% of the respondents claim that they do not wear helmet when riding a bicycle. Use of safety helmets when riding a bicycle is expected to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities analogously with motorcycle helmets and their complementary use should be
36 The three-quarters helmet covers the ears, cheeks, and back of the head, but lacks the lower chin bar of the full face helmet.
therefore considered.
Numerous studies were scrutinizing the effects of motorcyclists’ conspicuity both in daytime and at nighttime. Pai (2011) offers a comprehensive summary of 16 studies examining conspicuity aids, most of which came to the same conclusion: vehicles with headlights on are detected sooner and at greater distances, and riders with fluorescent or retroreflective garments produce faster detection times than standard ones. Increasing number of countries has adopted policies making use of DRL mandatory (Institute for Road Safety Research, Netherlands, 2013).
Car manufacturers are currently obliged to equip new vehicles with energy-efficient lamps for example in the European Union (Official Journal of the European Union, 2008) or Canada (Transport Canada, Government of Canada, 2013). The use of DRL is compulsory in all European countries, Canada, and many states of the United States (American Automobile Association, 2013), and their use is highly recommended in many other countries.
Paine (2003) found that according to European studies, the potential savings from daylight running lights (DRL) are:
(9) 25% of daytime multi-vehicle fatal accidents, (10) 28% of daytime fatal pedestrian accidents,
(11) 20% of daytime multi-vehicle injury accidents, and (12) 12% of daytime multi-vehicle property accidents
It is reasonable to assume that mandatory use of DLR for motorcycles or all vehicles as well as complementary use of fluorescent or retroreflective garments and other conspicuity aids for bicycle and motorcycle riders would improve road safety in Taiwan.
There is a vague understanding of traffic laws and rules (e.g., modest understanding of turn signals use) on part of drivers in Taiwan pointing to an existing potential in improving training prior to obtaining driver’s license. Road signs and surface markings are sometimes ambiguous and/or confusing and their coherent implementation would certainly contribute to better organized traffic flow. Sidewalks in many cities in Taiwan are missing entirely or are present but cannot be used because number of obstacles (e.g., parked motorcycles or street food vendors) are blocking the passageway and forcing pedestrians to walk in traffic where they are more likely to be hit by a passing motorcycle of automobile. However, discussing changes in road design exceeds scope of this work.
The law enforcement in general appears to be problematic given the quickly increasing number
of accidents while number of road traffic violations cited by the police administration has been gradually declining over the past twelve years, from 21,987 cases in 2000 to 8,925 cases in 2012 (Ministry of Transportation and Communications, 2013a). Growing accident rate is result of risky and reckless driving country-wide which should, in turn, produce increase in number of road traffic violations. The dispute between these two figures can point directly to weakening efficiency of police law enforcement.