Traffic posts were added along Provincial Highway 16 in Mingjian Township, Nantou County, after a crash in July that killed three people, but their protective capacity is insufficient — still bad news for road users.

• The Mingjian section of Provincial Highway 16 is a four-lane, two-way road with no central median, separated only by double yellow lines and traffic posts.
• In late July, an SUV travelling the wrong way collided with a truck, killing three people and injuring four.
• The Directorate General of Highways subsequently installed traffic posts, but members of the public question whether they can stop a vehicle and are calling for wire rope barriers instead.
• The Directorate General of Highways responded that wire rope barriers likewise cannot withstand an impact, and would require a wider inner shoulder, which would in fact make the lanes narrower and more dangerous.

Outlook: Only the traffic posts will be maintained in the short term; a genuine central median will have to wait for land expropriation to widen the road, and that timeline remains distant.