Taiwan to bar taxi drivers from watching TV while on the road

Jul 29, 2011, 6:52 GMT

Taipei - Taiwan plans to forbid taxi drivers from watching television while on the road to prevent accidents, the Transport Ministry said Friday.

Starting on January 1, 2013, inspectors doing safety checks on taxis would remove television screens under the new rule, said Lin Fu-shan, a Transport Ministry official.

'Some other countries and regions like the United States, Japan, Australia and Hong Kong already have rules barring taxi drivers from watching programmes,' he said.

In recent years, more and more taxi drivers have installed small screens on the dashboard so they can watch programmes while waiting for passengers or standing at traffic lights. Some said they have installed the TVs for their passengers.

Some foreigners have complained that a taxi ride in Taiwan can be a hair-raising experience because some drivers talk on their mobile phones or watch television while speeding through city traffic.