Taichung has repeatedly reported "pedestrian hell" incidents in recent years. In 2024, a female college student surnamed Lin and a senior student surnamed Wang from Tunghai University were walking on a pedestrian crossing to cross the road, but they were hit by a driver surnamed Shi and were run over twice and unfortunately died. In September this year, a Singaporean surnamed Chen happened again. A woman was hit and killed by a Kuo-Kuang bus while passing through a pedestrian crossing. Now a woman surnamed Hong was hit and killed. Taichung City Councilor Chen Shuhua from the Democratic Progressive Party criticized the city government for only focusing on the beautification of cold numbers and failing to achieve real improvements in risk factors such as software and hardware.
The driver of Juye Passenger Transport, surnamed Shi, drove bus No. 305 at around 9:00 pm on September 22, 2018, and hit a female college student named Lin and a senior student named Wang from Tunghai University who were walking on the zebra crossing on Green Chuan East Street in Taichung City. Mr. Shi got off the car and only saw a hand exposed by the wheel, but without further confirming the condition of the injured, he got on the bus again and moved the bus forward. As a result, the female student who was knocked down was crushed twice and eventually died.
In addition, at noon on September 16 this year, a Singaporean woman surnamed Chen (67 years old) came to Taiwan for a free trip with her family. Unexpectedly, when they were passing by the intersection of Ziye Road and Minsheng Road in the West District of Taichung City, the family walked on a zebra crossing to cross the road together, and other relatives and friends came one after another. When they walked to the opposite side of the road, Mrs. Chen, who was walking slower, was walking at the end, but she was hit and run over by a Kuo-Kuang passenger bus turning right. Although she was rescued and sent to the hospital, she died two days later. Unexpectedly, just over a month later, another woman surnamed Hong was hit and killed while crossing the road in Taichung.
Pedestrians have been hit and killed while walking on zebra crossings in Taichung one after another, and the city's reputation as a "pedestrian hell" has lingered. Taichung City Councilor Chen Shuhua of the Democratic Progressive Party said that the same regrets have happened again and again, but the city government only pays attention to the superficiality of cold digital beautification, rather than the real risk factors such as software and hardware at intersections. It is being improved. It is recommended that the conditions of each intersection should be redesigned and improved according to local conditions, including retracting the crossing lines and installing crossing lighting. For Wenxin Road, which has a large traffic volume and many pedestrians, some intersections are dim at night. It is recommended that crossing lighting should be installed along the route. In addition, drivers should also be educated on driving habits, and education on courtesy to pedestrians should be implemented from school.
The Taichung City Government stated that it continues to strengthen pedestrian safety through engineering improvements and law enforcement. By the end of October 2026, the city has built 1,075 pedestrian green lights with early opening and dedicated phases, 1,036 green zebras, 382 pedestrian shelter islands, 288 crossing setbacks and pedestrian crossings. There are 103 lighting points to reduce the risk of pedestrians and vehicles crossing each other. According to traffic accident statistics from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications from January to August 2026, the number of pedestrian deaths in Taichung City within 30 days was 18, a decrease of 23 people or 56.1% from the same period in 2025, ranking second among the six cities, showing that the improvement of pedestrian traffic safety is gradually showing results.
