By KHT Staff. AI-generated illustration; not the vehicle or location involved.
KAOHSIUNG — A truck driver who argued that his vehicle was too heavily loaded to have reached 133 kph has lost a court challenge against an NT$18,000 speeding fine.
The driver, identified by his surname, Cheng (鄭), presented GPS records showing a maximum speed of 91 kph and argued that nearly 23 metric tons of cargo made the police reading implausible. But the court found that the GPS recorded speeds only once every 30 seconds, leaving gaps that could not rule out the radar measurement, the China Times reported.
Police recorded the semitrailer truck traveling north on National Freeway 1 at the 224.9-kilometer mark at 3:52 a.m. on Aug. 31, 2025. The speed limit for large vehicles on that stretch was 90 kph, putting the recorded speed 43 kph over the limit.
Cheng received the fine and was ordered to attend a road safety course. Kaohsiung’s Transportation Bureau separately imposed a six-month suspension of the vehicle’s license plates on the transport company. Both challenged the penalties.
According to SET News’ report, republished by Mirror Media, the Kaohsiung High Administrative Court found that the police radar’s inspection certification remained valid. It also rejected a challenge to the warning sign, finding that one stood about 300 meters before the enforcement point.
The court also sought the vehicle manufacturer’s assessment of the heavy-load argument. The manufacturer said cargo weight alone could not establish a vehicle’s maximum speed because factors including road gradient, wind resistance, and tire condition also affect performance.
The court dismissed the driver’s and company’s challenges, leaving the penalties in place. The ruling can be appealed.
