Do you support or reject this policy?
In a nutshell: “The institute found that heavy motorcycle riders lacked an awareness of safe following distances to the vehicles in front of them and safe separation distance when trying to overtake other vehicles, the ministry said.”
The article further cites a large percentage of poll respondents (60%) are against this.
Having seen motorcycles frequently speed and fail to maintain adequate stopping & tailgating distance on the expressways (64/65), I doubt that many would be able to control themselves on the superhighways better. Additionally, I’ve seen heavier registered motorcycles pass at unsafe distances, too.
While cars also speed and don’t maintain safe stopping distance or avoid tailgating, the chances of sustaining life-ending injuries in a car vs. on a motorcycle are considerably less, esp. if driver and passengers are wearing belts.
On a motorcycle, if it rear-ended a car or bus at high speed, the rider & passengers would be thrown clear and their bodies would receive high impact injuries with a high chance of life altering/ending severity.
Of course, in non-superhighway situations, this is also true. But legal speed limits are considerably lower than 110km. It’s impractical and difficult, though not impossible, to drive at high speed; it’s considerably harder to do on worse surfaces with heavy traffic. ( – But banning motorcycles on any roads is not up for discussion, which is a pity given the amount of pollution they generate).
TBH, I have no idea why anyone would ride a motorcycle in Taiwan. Really makes no sense. A scooter, perhaps for shorter journeys. The statistics are mind-numbing: 1/3 involved in fatal crashes were speeding at the time of the incident; 1/3+/- involved in accidents have no license; while fewer fatal accidents occur on interstates among riders, it’s no laughing matter when you’re hit from the front on a motorcycle (esp. if you were tailgating the vehicle in front).
Photo by Fabio Spinelli on Unsplash