The Legislative Yuan passed amendments Tuesday that reduced the number of traffic violations that can be reported to police by the general public to 46.
The revisions to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act were made after police complained of being inundated by traffic violation reports from regular citizens.
Article 7-1 of the current Act stipulates that members of the general public can submit factual accounts, evidence, and information regarding any traffic violation to the authorities.
But the volume of reports has soared with the prevalence of mobile phones, rising sharply from 1.53 million in 2016 to 5.98 million in 2020, with some of them specifically sent to gain revenge.
The types of violations that can still be reported following the revisions include certain moving violations, including riding a scooter without a helmet; lighting a cigarette while driving; holding a mobile phone while driving; and zigzagging or operating a vehicle in a dangerous manner.
They also include overtaking, making a U-turn or putting a vehicle in reverse in violation of traffic regulations, and running a red light or traversing a railroad crossing when the gates are lowered.
Some of the non-moving violations that people can still report are double parking, occupying parking spaces designated for people with disabilities, and illegally parking at bus stops, intersections, and fire lanes.
The revisions also stipulate that a vehicle engaging in the same kind of illegal behavior can only be reported once every six minutes and only once per intersection.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel