Although drivers are required by law to have vehicle insurance, only 82 percent of moped drivers are insured. To ensure victims get compensation, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications is raising the accident fine to a maximum of NT$16,000 for uninsured moped drivers and NT$24,000 for uninsured car drivers.

Citizen: “(Drivers) that aren’t insured should be fined. (The government) shouldn’t wait until they get into an accident to fine them.”

Citizen: “My friends that aren’t insured had to deal with ascriptive responsibility issues when they got into accidents. ”

According to statistics, 98 percent of car drivers in Taiwan are insured. The rate is higher than for moped drivers probably because periodic inspections are required for cars. In addition to higher fines, the ministry will also be checking the insurance records of all drivers cited for traffic violations and fining those that are uninsured.

Chao Chin-wei, Section Chief, MOTC: “The Financial Supervisory Commission and Directorate-General of Highways will check the records of any driver cited for a traffic violation and fine them (if they are uninsured).”

The new regulations go into effect on Nov. 30.