The drivers here suck. Bad. This isn’t a thread to argue that, it is what it is.
However, I had my first REALLY close call to today (had a few kinda close ones before). Dude on a scooter shot out in front of me from a side street (I know, big surprise, right). Well, I reacted in Southern Californian fashion honked, flipped the bird, and yelled “fuck you” (first time I’ve flipped in 8 months here, like I said it was a close call). The guy responded by hitting his horn and throwing his hand up. Still heated, I turned around and jumped off my scooter. He simply sped away. I guess it’s a good thing, as I don’t want trouble. I’m big, 5’10" 240lbs of muscle, maybe that’s why he left LOL.
Back to the point, anybody ever been in a roadside argument or actual fight? Get in trouble for it? I normally let things slide, but I think this one set me off because it was such a close call.
Just hope you don’t get a call from the cops later today because he wants to press charges for the f bomb which is illegal in Taiwan in a public place, as is flipping the bird and with the amount of cameras on the road there would be ample evidence for the cops.
I’ve yelled at someone only once but generally I bite my tongue due to not waiting to run afoul of the personal insult law which is a ridiculous law
It’s not worth getting into a confrontation. You’re not going to change their behavior and the police will probably take their side over the foreigner if you get into fisticuffs. The drivers here are awful though. Still better than in mainland China fwiw.
He likely won’t do anything but I’m just saying that as a reminder as there are a lot of idiots on the road who will take things “personally” running away in a cowardly fashion and calling the cops later to get some money from you or who call their buddies that will swarm you with bats and knives down the road.
Don’t worry about the “cameras”. They are just for show. They don’t work. Look at the Zayne Dean incident. The car must have drive by 500 cameras and there is not any pictures of it. And even if it was it is so grained that you can’t see anything.
Drivers here are awful. There are many times I would like to key a car or punch a scooter driver that nearly ran over me.
However I remember that I am in Taiwan, which is fairly racist. And as a foreigner here I don’t have many rights and would likely be jailed or expelled if i acted on impulse.
So I let it slide while cursing out the person in some swear words in foreign languages that I’ve picked up. Makes me feel better and they can’t understand me.
You’re just going to have to accept it if you live here. The people are unlikely to change.
Guy in a black BMW was tailgating me blaring his horn. Cars on both sides of me, no way to get out of his way. We were already 10km/h over the posted limit. I knew a speed camera was only yards away so I tapped my brakes. It pissed him off. Next red light he jumped out with a baseball bat charging me. He got a good whack on the back of my scooter before I floored it and took off. He chased, but I was more maneuverable on a scooter and lost him.
I called the cops. They actually came and even checked the cameras. No clear shot of his plates. Cop advised me to carry a bat as well for protection. Was a bit shocked at that advice.
The cameras do dot work “very well”. You can go to Youtube and see how grained the film is. You can’t see a licence plate or make out a face. It’s all very blurred.
And if they work so well why is there nothing of the Zayne Dean car?
Buddy left something in a cab. Went to the cops, they fired up the cams and found tape of the cab dropping him off in minutes. He got his shit back.
Some malcontent torched a police station, then took some major evasive action, including scooter and cab changes. Took them almost a year, but they got him.
I saw two German guys get gang beated by baseball bats outside Juliannas about 15 years ago. I don’t know if that club is still busy. They were business tourists and they told the wrong guy to fuck off.They got severely beated and I had no power to stop them because they would have beated me.
I also saw a guy get very badly beated by 20 or so guys outside Carnegie’s. Just because he spoke to the wrong guys girlfriend or something. It is the coward way of getting revenge in Taiwan. It’s never one on one.
I’ve seen plenty of big headed foreigners visiting do stupid ass stuff like start fights at clubs and get dragged and beat in the back before getting kicked out. But to be fair, it happens to locals as well but it’s always stupid people visiting who think they can do that and get away with it. It’s just a really stupid thing to do not being careful in a foreign country youre not familiar with
One particular incident. A group a spanish, and English exchange students had a group of guys outside the club that looked like they just ran over by a truck. The girls in the group were going hysteric and talking to the cops who did not speak English or spanish. So i went over and asked whats going on. They said the bouncers took their friends in the back and beat them up. So having worked in the night life and entertainment industry, I knew they werent telling the full story. They don’t just beat customers up for no reason. So finally i got the full story and they started a fight with another group. I’m not saying it’s right to beat them up…but still. You can’t do stupid things like that in a place that you can’t even speak the local language.
But to be fair, clubbing is far safer here. It’s very rare that these group beating happen. And it does. But clubs in the US…i’m seriously worried about getting stabbed or shot. Even outside the club is really dangerous. You have to worry about drive bys and stuff.
So always be careful starting something, even in the mostly safe country of Taiwan. I know in Texas you don’t flip people off without the fear of one of them following you and shooting you out of rage. It has happened before and it happened once in my town where a guy got followed into a gas station and shot for cutting the guy off. Starting a fight is never smart as there’s just crazy people everywhere.
You are the foreigner, so whatever happens will be your fault in the eyes of society, the media, the law, bystanders, everyone.
The Taiwanese don’t fight alone. They will call their buddies and soon you’ll be one against ten, and they may be armed with bats and tire irons, and I’ve heard of people ending up with brain damage as a result of avoidable fights. This is not considered dishonorable; indeed, by defeating you they are defending their ever-so-precious “face”. Plus they look like a boss being able to call up an army.
Oh, and they do take public insults (even in English) very seriously. I know two Westerners who have been taken to court for it, and I have heard other stories too. The “public insultment” law is stupid, but it is real and it is used.
I was once outside a club and my friend got in a fight with some Taiwanese guy about a girl. I told him to stop it because I know what can happen. So the Taiwanese guy run inside the club to get his friends. I want to run away now because I’m scared. My friend thinks he’s a tough guy and want to stick around and take them on. I run to get a taxi but all the taxi drivers watch what is happening and refuse to take us. There are three taxi’s outside and they all refuse. They want to see us get beated. So I run up the street and lucky find a taxi to stop for us. They stick together like glue. They are never wrong in the eye of their countryman.
Thanks for all the info, good to know these things. I don’t go looking for trouble, just lost it today. I feel like I draw enough attention (unwanted) as it is.
Kinda sucks they won’t go one-on-one, topic for another day maybe