Department of Transportation

Taipei City’s Department of Transportation (DOT) announced the ten most accident-prone intersections citywide for 2013: the Civic Blvd.-Zhongshan N. Rd. intersection, Zhongxiao E. Rd.-Keelung Rd. intersection, Zhongxiao W. Rd.-Zhonghua Rd. intersection, Chang’an E. Rd.-Jianguo N. Rd. intersection, Minzu W. Rd.-Zhongshan N. Rd. intersection, Minquan W. Rd.-Lanzhou St. intersection, Civic Blvd.-Linsen N. Rd. intersection, Zhongxiao E. Rd.-Guangfu S. Rd. intersection, Chengde Rd.-Dunhuang Rd. intersection and Heping E. Rd.-Keelung Rd. intersection. In addition to proposing improvement measures within 2 months that address the causes of accidents prevalent at these intersections, DOT will conduct on-site surveys jointly with all authorities concerned to ensure the appropriateness of traffic facilities, while appealing to pedestrians to abide by the traffic rules for extra safety.
Rather than the usual practice of ranking intersections or streets by total accident number, DOT noted that the 2013 annual traffic accident statistics were compiled by weighting the number of deaths, casualties and accidents at each intersection, as suggested by the Institute of Transportation, in order to more objectively reflect reality.
The DOT data show the leading causes of traffic accidents at the ten most dangerous intersections throughout 2013: “failure to keep a safe distance” (9%), “obliviousness of road conditions ahead” (6%), “failure to comply with traffic signals or direction of traffic officers” (6%) and “failure to yield” (6%), with the most common accident types being same-direction sideswipes (24%), side collisions (15%) and rear-end collisions (6%).
Taipei City’s top 3 accident-prone spots for 2013 were: Civic Blvd.-Zhongshan N. Rd. Intersection, Zhongxiao E. Rd.-Keelung Rd. intersection and Zhongxiao W. Rd.-Zhonghua Rd. intersection. A preliminary analysis by DOT suggests that “illegal right turns” are the leading cause of crashes at Civic Blvd.-Zhongshan N. Rd. intersection, where motorists account for 70% of the road users, and most of the crashes happened as light-duty vehicle drivers make a right turn without noticing a motorist behind. “Failure to keep a safe distance” is the No. 1 culprit for accidents at Zhongxiao E. Rd.-Keelung Rd. intersection as the north-bound lane closure on Keelung Rd. combined with heavy traffic in the area increases the likelihood of same-direction sideswipes. At the Zhongxiao W. Rd.-Zhonghua Rd. intersection where multiple roads meet, the primary cause of crashes is “failure to keep a safe distance” since the complicated traffic pattern tends to result in same-direction sideswipes.
In its advice to road users, DOT stresses the importance of following traffic rules and developing a habit of “defensive driving,” which means being mindful of fellow road users (including their dangerous behavior), and also making yourself visible to them while driving, so as to avoid unintentional damage, stay safe on the road and eventually reduce the chances of having accidents.

2014-04-28