Driving in Taiwan

While talking to a friend of mine a few days ago while we were surfing around on YouTube we found our selves on the topic of driving in Taiwan. My friend with a straight and honest face told me directly that “People in Taiwan are excellent drivers.” and that he doesn’t know where the idea came from that Taiwanese are horrible drivers. This led us to a very entertaining search around YT for the videos of drivers in Taiwan. One of the videos had a link to a post that had the following to say about driving in Taiwan. Something that I personally find to be a nearly perfect representation of the driving mentality in Taiwan. The only thing missing is the little blue trucks.

“Though the basic rules of the road are the same as in most other countries, Taiwan has a widely practiced, alternative highway code. This alternative code is built around getting to your destination as quickly as possible with little or no regard to the safety of yourself and others. Some of the main points:

1. Driving on the Right
In Taiwan people drive on the right, but under certain special circumstances, especially if riding a motorbike or scooters, driving on the left is accepted,
i) You’re only traveling a short distance.
ii) Your destination is on the left and it’s inconvenient to drive on the right.
iii) You’re on the left, the traffic is busy, and it’s just too difficult to get across the road onto the right hand side.
iv) You’re having a good day and simply don’t feel that anything bad is going to happen to you.
These rules particularly apply to the elderly.

2. Red Lights
i) You don’t always need to stop for them. If you think you can get through ok, then go for it.
ii) If you do stop, then don’t stop completely. Keep edging forward. You’ll shave valuable milliseconds off your destination time and you make sure that guy next to you cant get in front and cut you off. In the competition to be first off the blocks, think nothing of edging out so far that you start to obstruct legally moving cars.
iii) Don’t wait for your light to change to green before putting your foot down. Keep an eye on the other light, wait for that one to change from green to red or even to orange, then go. You’ve got places to get to and waiting for a green light will add 7 or even 8 seconds on to your journey time. It’s not worth it.

3. Turning Right
When turning right, even onto a busy road, it’s not necessary to wait for a gap in the traffic. In fact, you don’t even need to look and check if there any cars coming your way. Feel free to put people’s lives in danger.
Even if there’s a red light, ignore it. Red lights only apply to people turning left or going straight on.

4. Overtaking
i) Overtake on both the inside and outside.
ii) Overtake on blind corners.
iii) Do it like ‘Michael’ Schumacher.

5. The Fast and The Furious
Great movie, right? You can do it too!

6. Speed Limits
These are more of a guideline than an actual rule. They’re meant for new drivers, women, and not for the likes of you. You’re a good driver, people have told you so, and you’re driving an SUV that has an engine big enough to power an airplane. You go as fast as you like.

7. Big Cars
Buy one. Not only will spend a lot of money running them, waste the Earth’s dwindling resources in a bid to make yourself look cool, add to the Nation’s chronically bad air pollution problem, but you can also intimidate people in smaller cars. Why bother with the hassle of overtaking? Instead just drive right up to puny car’s bumper, they’ll move for you. If they don’t, drive even closer, possibly honk your horn, you’ll get ’em.

8. Parking
Double parking, blocking someone else in, parking on a corner, these things might be considered lazy, selfish, and inconsiderate. But hey, what do you care?

9. Motorbikes and Scooters
i) Never look in your mirrors.
ii) Weave in and out through cars and slower bikes, cut them off if you want.
iii) Scooters can be specially adapted with a small wicker chair on the foot plate. What better or safer way to transport a baby?
iv) Child passengers don’t need a helmet. Hasn’t a scientific report shown that in the event of a 40 km/h bike crash, a child’s head will simply bounce off the tarmac?
v) A 125cc scooters can easily seat a family of four.
vi) Carrying very large, and very long objects on a bike is totally safe.

Taiwan’s roads are extremely dangerous and to survive them you need to do more than just prepare for the worst. Expect to be amazed by some new act of lunacy every time you get on your bike or in your car. Even then, even if you’re a careful driver, and many are, there’s no guarantee of safety when the roads are filled with so many complete idiots.

There are numerous causes for this terrible state of affairs: the teaching and testing systems are laughably inadequate; police routinely turn a blind eye to indiscretions; drink-driving is not socially unacceptable; even the laws governing liability for a crash are hazy. I am told that things are changing in this last regard, but in many cases compensation must be paid to whichever party was most seriously injured, even if the accident was their fault.

The number, and scope of these causes ensure that, even if the government took immediate and drastic action, Taiwanese roads will remain dangerous for many years to come. Perhaps the most worrying thing is that very little action, drastic or otherwise, is forthcoming.” --Written by Andrew Crosthwaite