Government garbage trucks in Yilan County are speeding and driving dangerously on a regular basis, which is bad news for road safety and embarrassing for the local offices that run them.

• Yuanshan Township's garbage trucks were the county's worst speeders every month from January through September last year, breaking 100 speeding incidents in eight of those months.
• Yilan City's trucks were the second-worst in July, showing the problem is not limited to one township.
• Auditors flagged the pattern after reviewing environmental bureau data on speeding and hard braking.
• Yuanshan was already warned in June, but its drivers showed no real improvement over the following three months.
• A Luodong recycling truck was also caught crossing double yellow lines and driving against traffic; that driver lost bonus pay.

Outlook: The environmental bureau has ordered Yuanshan and Yilan City to submit concrete improvement plans and step up driver safety training.