Miaoli Residents Sick of Noisy Motorcycles 假日車聚擾清幽 景點交通增添亂象

Miaoli residents living near Provincial Highway 3's Sanwan and Shitan roads are sick and tired of noise pollution from heavy motorcycles, saying police are not doing enough. Holiday traffic in Tainan, meanwhile, is also a nightmare.

Police flag down a pack of heavy motorcycles and inspect each one individually. Many were found to have modified exhaust pipes.

Heavy Motorcyclist: “It's been a long ride. I rode over from Hsinchu. It's not hot at all.”

Although the owners said their bikes had not been modified, the bikes were in violation of noise pollution laws. The Environmental Protection Administration has fined the violators and ordered a second inspection. Every weekend, heavy motorcycles turn Miaoli's Sanwan and Shitan roads into a nightmare for residents.

Chiu Yung-feng, Deputy Chief, Miaoli County Traffic Police: “The standard is 90 decibels for roads with a driving speed of 50-70 kilometers per hour.”

In response to complaints from area residents, the Environmental Protection Bureau has noise checkpoints at the 102.6 and 110-kilometer markers on Provincial Highway 3 and also uses mobile sensors to identify violators. The bureau issued 514 fines between last November and this January. Violators that fail to pass a second inspection are fined a second time. However, residents say the situation has not improved at all, and in fact has been even worse during this long weekend.

Resident: “Nothing has changed. (Even with all the equipment?) Yes. (It doesn't help at all?) No.”

Resident: “You can see for yourself. Sit here. I can see them ignoring regulations, one pack after another, riding back and forth.”

Heavy Motorcyclist: “I do push the clutch when I'm passing by residential areas. Otherwise, the ignition will turn off.”

Tainan has its own problems. One scooter recently shot a video while turning onto Yunong Road from Houjia Circle. Cars are parked illegally in red zones or even in the right lane while taxis are parked in the turn lane in front of an eatery, blocking pedestrians from crossing the street. Local police say violators face fines of NT$600-1,200 for road and traffic violations and they will step up patrols.

員警和稽查人員在路旁，攔下一整群重機騎士。每部機車仔細檢視車體，發現不少都有疑似改裝排氣管。

重機騎士說：「我騎很久了，我從新竹騎過來，都不會燙。」

騎士雖然辯稱沒改裝，但噪音超過標準是事實，環保局也依規定開單要求複檢。苗栗台三線三灣和獅潭路段，每到假日重機聚集，遇到追焦手拍照的彎道，有的還會拉高轉速壓車。

苗栗縣警局交通隊副隊長邱永豐表示：「限速50公里以上、小於70公里路段，則不能超過90分貝。」

噪音讓附近居民實在受不了，環保局除了在台三線的102.6公里和110公里處，架設固定式噪音取締，也加強移動式機動取締，從去年11月底到今年1月，共取締了514件噪音超標，依法開單複檢如果還不合格就會按次處罰，但居民說，噪音問題依舊沒有改善，尤其連假這幾天更嚴重。

當地居民說：「都還是一樣，(裝了還是一樣喔?) 對，（沒有用?) 哪有什麼用。」

還有當地居民表示：「你可以來試試看，就坐在這裡，我看他還是照飆，一群一群，來回騎、來回騎。」
 

騎士則說：「經過民宅，就拉離合器滑過去，不然就要熄火。」

除了苗栗重機擾人，台南也湧進不少遊客吃美食。但有機車騎士拍下，行經台南後甲圓環，正要轉裕農路時，這間牛肉湯店面前，不少車輛違停在紅線或慢車道，甚至還有計程車直接停在轉彎，還擋住行人穿越道。當地警方表示，除了可依違反道路交通管理處罰條例，開罰600元到1200元罰鍰，也會加強取締。