Carrying a switchblade is illegal Robotea. If a cop sees you with one, they’ll confiscate your weapon and you’ll get arrested (I think). Make sure you know the knife carry laws in Taiwan. Maybe just carry a switchblade comb and don’t open it? And if a cop stops you, just open it and comb your hair.
Carrying a switchblade is illegal Robotea and using it in a threatening manner is a serious crime.
You could do jail-time for that.
Years ago one of my coworkers had some complain in a coffee shop. The guy behind the counter showed him a knife and kind of was waving it around. My coworker involved the police and ended up with 15 000 NT$ right on the spot.
The guy found himself in such big trouble that he probably would have paid anything to make it go away.
Robotea, look! I don’t take the MRT anymore because I am afraid that I might do something not looking too good, and someone is filming it for youtube.
However, your issues are more serious than that.
Switchblade was the wrong thing, more like a pocket knife. But good to know. Thanks.
NTD 15k for flashing a knife yet the police here gives a rats ass about all those traffic offenders one can count by the minute at any given junction. And if you catch them on video what do they get? 1000 bucks and a warning?
NTD 15k for flashing a knife yet the police here gives a rats ass about all those traffic offenders one can count by the minute at any given junction. And if you catch them on video what do they get? 1000 bucks and a warning?[/quote]
That was in 1999 and armed robbery still carried a death sentencing.
Holy Moses… and if a bus driver responsible for 10+ passengers guns a red light and hence accepting potential injuries or even loss of life, nobody cares.
So I was at the gym and they had the news on the screen, so what the hey, lets see what garbage is on. They are talking about a Korean lady crossing the street and a taxi driver clips her making her fall to the ground. And speeds off. The car behind barely misses her and drives off. But then the bus behind the 2nd car runs her over. I’m pretty sure the bus ran her over.
Anyone else see this story? Did I get it right?
You have to be raised by cockroaches to be able to hit someone in a car and drive off. Or even see someone lying on the ground and just drive off without stopping for help or to slow traffic. They need to reevaluate the retributive punishment system here.
news.tvbs.com.tw/local/news-615520/
It happened pretty much like you said. Fortunately, the Korean lady didn’t die, only broke her leg and the baby’s face was scraped. The taxi hit both the woman and the baby, the baby being thrown out of the buggy. Then a car passed and didn’t stop, and finally the bus came along and drove over the woman. Some workmen were there and able to lift the bus off of her very quickly.
why is this news? the cars here don’t stop for no one. woman and baby on the ground? to not stop and run them over is the normal code of practice here.
pedestrians have right of way, but 95% of cars (i will admit that some cars do stop) do not care about this and think they are the dons and they have right of way because they are driving a car. i have seen many a scumbag not change their speed at all when pregnant women, women with prams and people with small dogs are crossing. i saw a small girl by herself the other day. the cars didn’t give a fuck.
the whole being allowed to turn while pedestrians are crossing rule needs to go, straight up. the drivers here have no regards for others safety nor respect for pedestrians nor awareness of their surroundings. it just isn’t safe. this video is enough to show that. is 3 cars in a row not stopping enough to prove the point?
this woman got clipped from behind too, what a douche bag the driver is.
I can’t agree with you more, well said. God this irritates me so much every single time I cross the street.
In California, my first traffic ticket was making a right turn when pedestrians were crossing the street. IIRC, the rule is that regardless of how far the pedestrian is, if they have one foot on the crosswalk, drivers can’t make the turn. I got busted for it even though the pedestrian was a good bus length away, walking away from me.
Sometimes even scooters come whizzin by pretty close too while crossing the street when it’s green. Is it considered assault here if I shove a scooter off his bike if I think he’s going to run into me???
There is a good way to find out !
There is a good way to find out ![/quote]
If somebody runs me over on a scooter I consider this assault and I will kick him down. A good and very well connected lawyer will give him the rest.
Thought this was a fitting read, Driven to Kill:
TLDR; drivers who hit a pedestrian rather kill them instead of just injuring them, saves $ in the long run. WTF.
[quote=“Robotea”]Thought this was a fitting read, Driven to Kill:
TLDR; drivers who hit a pedestrian rather kill them instead of just injuring them, saves $ in the long run. WTF.[/quote]
Yes, unfortunately there are a lot of such news from China. I still can’t get rid of one image in my mind: a woman who caused a crash is laying naked on the road in front of the ambulance in a desperate attempt to prevent it from leaving with the person she injured. This is how disgusting some of these “people” are, less than trash.
It ties in with this thread’s topic: selfish, egocentric individuals, assuming everybody else will give way, no matter what. If something happens, they run away, stick their head in the sand thinking nobody can see them. This applies not to all yet to the larger part of people I can see around here in Taiwan and it applies to traffic as it does to other elements of life.
I think it’s westerners are more oblivious to cars. When I drive in the states, I hate it when people take their sweet ol’ time crossing a street. (Especially people coming right out of Walmart lol) Unless you have some sort of physically injury or are handicapped, I think it’s common courtesy to at least power walk 5 yards instead of taking 30 seconds to do so.
I guess, i’ve lived in cities around the world for half of my life and really southern states in the US the other half. So I have enough awareness walking around the city, but I also give drivers a hard time. Like sometimes I just put my hands up palms open when a car is about to cross the street next to me like a traffic cop lol. Prob cost the guy more to fix his dent on his bmw than me going to the hospital with NHI. And I’ll hit the car when I feel like they come to close to me. Me being 6’2 or 190 and 95kg probably helps. Only one guy got out of his car when i slapped it when he almost clipped at night. But he quickly walked back in once I started yelling and walking towards him lol (Won’t say what i said to him, i’ll keep it pg) But I wouldn’t recommend doing what I do.
why should you power walk across the road? pedestrians have right of way and drivers should be trying to drive safely. i like how it works in the uk, the lights are red and you fucking wait for them to change to green -whether there are people on the crossing or not- before you drive off. people wait behind the waiting point and don’t stop their cars or buses in the middle of the crossing.
you can’t see whether the light is green or not sometimes cus a BUS just stopped right in front of it. why does this ever need to happen, basically all the lights have a countdown in taiwan so you have enough time to prepare to stop.
i do live in banqiao though, so i see the worst of taiwans driving everytime i step outside.
…such a statement kind of proves my point right? I would say: locals are more oblivious to traffic laws (to be diplomatic). Beyond that: oblivious to the fact that they have a responsibility while driving a motorized vehicle. A red light is a red light is a red light - period. Just pick any busy traffic junction in Taipei and observe for 5 minutes… it will be crystal clear of what material most drivers here are made of… they should be taken off the roads permanently after being fined a good chunk of their annual income.
I take the middle ground here. I grew up in the states so I understand why pedestrians should have the right of way…but in the states, pedestrians are totally oblivious to cars which is dangerous. Listen, do you want to trust your life based on someone else’s carefulness? Car vs person, car wins every time. You should care about your own safety not rely just on others to watch for your safety. In Taiwan, pedestrians technically have the right of way, but drivers drive more aggressively. But I witness far less accidents in Taiwan compared to the states. Which is pretty incredible since theres bikes, people, buses, scooters and cars all sharing the road. Vs wide open roads in the states…
bruh, look up some stats before you come out with your vague observations!
why can’t we all be more like the Japs. so polite and cars so nice about pedestrians and no one bumps no one else (except really accidentally) and so no need for rage and switchblades and knocking down old people.