By KHT Staff. Image via Kaohsiung Traffic Police.
KAOHSIUNG — Drivers can violate traffic rules even when the signal light is green if they ignore directional arrows or lane markings, the China Times reported Wednesday, Oct. 7, citing city traffic police.
Automated systems at Kaohsiung intersections recorded 49,220 violations between January and September, according to the report. The three most common categories were running red lights, turning right on red and failing to obey signs, road markings or signals.
Police said many violations in the third category involved drivers continuing straight from turn-only lanes or misreading multi-phase signals, which provide separate stages for different traffic movements.
Circular and arrow signals have different meanings
Under Article 206 of Taiwan’s Regulations for Road Traffic Signs, Markings and Signals, a circular green light permits vehicles to travel straight or turn left or right when no other sign or road marking restricts the movement.
A green arrow permits travel only in the direction shown. A driver facing a left-turn arrow, for example, cannot continue straight through the intersection.
Article 48 of the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act provides fines of NT$600 to NT$1,800 for specified turning or lane-changing violations, including disobeying signs, markings or signals and driving straight from a designated turn lane.
Police advised motorists approaching a multi-phase intersection to check:
- Whether the green signal is circular or arrow-shaped
- Whether lane markings require a turn
- Whether signs or other signals restrict the intended movement
- Whether turning traffic must yield before proceeding
Police report fewer citations and crashes
The 49,220 automated-enforcement cases represented 816 fewer violations than during the same period in 2025, a decline of 1.65%, police said.
At intersections equipped with automated enforcement, police also reported 588 fewer crashes than the average for the corresponding periods during the three years before installation, a decline of 22.9%. The figure is a police comparison involving monitored intersections, not a citywide crash total.
Police said automated enforcement is intended to reduce violations and crashes. They urged drivers to follow the combination of signals, signs, and lane markings rather than assuming every green light permits movement in every direction.
