A man who just couldn’t deal with holiday traffic came up with his own solution– which unfortunately left fellow drivers feeling cheated and a little unsafe.
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Traffic is a frustrating part of everyday life, especially holiday traffic, which may be what drove one man to break the rules.
Last Sunday on the northbound lane of National Freeway 5 in Jiaoxi, a driver from an outside lane removed traffic cones to cut into the line waiting for the on-ramp. When he failed to replace the cones two more bad actors slipped in after him.
The event was recorded and reported by dismayed drivers who felt that not only was such poor behavior unfair to the long line, but also unsafe.
National Freeway 5 is frequently backed up especially on holidays– which is exactly why traffic control measures were put in place. Many waiting felt that it wasn’t worth the safety risk, while other drivers also pointed out the obvious unfairness of illegally cutting in a long line, with another mentioning that the place where the perpetrator rearranged the traffic cones was directly in the middle of an intersection.
This isn’t the first time something like this has happened at the same intersection, with the last incursion under similar circumstances in January.
However, the cones are there for good reason. The Freeway Bureau uses cones to set aside dedicated bus lanes, and give larger vehicles priority. Only police are allowed to move cones, such as allowing east-west traffic through the intersection.
As the incident in question was reported, Jiaoxi police said that the violator will be punished with a fine between NT$900 to NT$1,800 (about US$28 - US$56).
Police also reminded everyone to not imitate or follow in the footsteps of bad actors. When traffic is bad drivers can use alternative routes, such as Provincial Highway 2 or 9 to both avoid traffic, and avoid being the talk of the on-ramp.
Amanda Stephens for RTI News