[Kaohsiung News] To raise drivers’ awareness about pedestrians’ right of way and safety at intersections, the Kaohsiung City Government and the Directorate General of Highways held a press conference “Reduce Speed and Yield to Pedestrians at Intersections” on the 24th, at which representatives from the Kaohsiung Society for Traffic Safety, food delivery platform operators and nine major industries in the transportation sector in Kaohsiung attended, pledging to promote the campaign of “I’m OK, You Go First!” and the concept of yielding to pedestrians at intersections among workers in the transportation sector.
Deputy Mayor Lin Chin-jung said in his remarks that Kaohsiung City is an industrial city with large enterprises such as CPC Corporation, China Steel Corporation and Taiwan Sugar Corporation. These enterprises not only take on the mission of driving Taiwan’s economic growth, but also ought to ensure the quality of life for people in Kaohsiung City, especially traffic safety that is closely related to the citizens.
Lin says that promoting the concept of yielding to pedestrians at intersections requires concerted efforts of the city government and private enterprises. The city government appreciates Taiwan Sugar Corporation for providing the venue and working together to promote a new social atmosphere and convey the idea of valuing lives and safety culture to every citizen to engender the cultural literacy of people in the industrial city—Kaohsiung.
Director-General Chang Shu-chuan of the Transportation Bureau urges drivers to show their professionalism, always keep the word “safety” in their mind, pay attention to road conditions while driving, reduce speed at intersections, check all directions before making turns, be considerate and yield to each other, so that safety can be ensured.
Chang also tells citizens that the number of traffic deaths in Kaohsiung City in 2021 decreased by 12 compared with 2020. In particular, the number of fatalities in scooter-related accidents decreased by 4.1% and the number of large vehicle accidents even dropped by 23.8%. The Office of Science and Technology Advisors, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications has also been subsidized for the “Prevention for Accident-prone Intersections and Decision Aid System,” hoping to work together with the citizens and transform Kaohsiung into a city with zero traffic fatalities in the future.
Kaohsiung Motor Vehicles Office says it will continue to organize traffic safety awareness campaigns classified by groups, such as older adults, young people, delivery workers and children, etc., to raise the awareness about blind spots and the big difference between inner wheels of large vehicles, yield lines and signs at intersections and right of way, defensive driving, yielding to pedestrians and other concepts, in the hope that through actual experiences, all road users will learn accurate traffic safety knowledge.
“Kaohsiung is an industrial city with the highest number of heavy-duty vehicles on the road in Taiwan. The press conference, where attendees pledged to yield to pedestrians at intersections, is very meaningful. Such events allow transportation operators in the private sectors to join efforts to ensure the safety of pedestrians at intersections,” said Secretary-general Hsueh Sheng-hung of the Kaohsiung Society for Traffic Safety.
The pep assembly was spontaneous, as a response from the transportation industry, with the hope that through the distribution of Yield Stickers and the participation of the representatives of various associations, more drivers working in all transportation sectors will be aware of the concept of safe driving. The Transportation Bureau and the Motor Vehicles Office will continue to uphold the “people-oriented transportation” concept, organize traffic safety awareness campaigns and propose accident-prone intersection improvement projects, to enhance the traffic safety in Kaohsiung City and establish a new traffic culture in Kaohsiung.