[Dwemadayday]

The China Post/Asia News Network
Sunday, Apr 08, 2012

TAIWAN - The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday ordered a driver surnamed Kuo to pay NT$1.22 million (S$51,072) to two motorcycle riders after he injured them by opening his car door without paying attention to oncoming traffic.

In January, Kuo stopped his car next to a red line, which indicates that parking is not allowed in the area, and opened the door.

A motorcycle hit the car door and a woman and a man on the motorcycle were severely injured.

The woman was unable to work for four months, while the man needed to rest for nine months.

The two sued Kuo, whom the court later said was responsible for the accident and ruled that Kuo be put in jail for 55 days and pay NT$360,000 to the woman and NT$860,000 to the man.

The court ruling is typical for this kind of incident.

Two years ago in Taoyuan County, a driver responsible for a similar incident which left a motorbike rider in a persistent vegetative state was ordered to pay NT$27 million to the rider and serve six months in prison.

Drivers are almost always considered fully responsible for this kind of accident, according to the Kaohsiung City Police Department.

Experts suggest that drivers should open the car door on the right side since, in this way, drivers can see clearly if there is any oncoming traffic.