Taipei: Taiwan’s top government watchdog is reaching out to foreigners residing in the country to complete a questionnaire aimed at assessing public sector efforts to enhance road safety. The initiative seeks to gather insights from foreign nationals, predominantly Indonesians and Vietnamese, to understand their experiences and challenges related to transportation.

According to Focus Taiwan, the survey is available in multiple languages including English, Chinese, Tagalog, Bahasa Indonesia, Vietnamese, and Thai, ensuring accessibility for a wide range of participants. Yeh Ta-hua, a member of the Control Yuan, emphasized the anonymity of the survey, allowing participants to freely express their views. The move comes in response to a significant rise in traffic-related casualties and deaths involving foreign nationals, which have nearly doubled over the past five years, as reported by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

Data reveals that Taiwan experienced an increase in total traffic casualties and deaths from 362,393 in 2020 to 393,882 in 2024. Incidents involving foreign nationals surged from 7,365 to 13,004 during the same period. In light of these statistics, Yeh Ta-hua has spearheaded the launch of the multilingual questionnaire, urging foreign residents to share their insights and recommendations for improving road safety.

The questionnaire probes into various aspects of the transportation experience, including the comprehension of English instructions in different localities and the necessity for such translations. Additionally, it asks respondents to evaluate drivers’ awareness of pedestrians on a scale of one to five and to provide feedback on the local public transportation system. The survey also seeks opinions on the adequacy of information available regarding safety measures.

Foreign residents have until May 23 to complete and submit the questionnaire, contributing to a broader understanding of the transportation challenges they face in Taiwan.