MJB,
So sorry… 
I’m with all the other posters who said you have saved lives in the last five years. Good luck on finding a suitable replacement and wishing you peace over this next month.
[quote=“Beercan”]
Driving in Taiwan is the same. It’s all too easy to see the chaos and forget that the road is a dangerous place. Someone who wouldn’t ordinarily run red lights may just see 14 people do it and think, ‘everyone else is, right?’.[/quote]Agreed. No-one wants to look like a sucker for stopping at the red while everyone else is blowing it off.
But there’s another factor at work which I think is even more relevant. The luck thing. I think everyone who can do simple math can understand there is a far higher chance of getting into a road traffic accident than winning the lottery, yet they seem to spend their days planning how they’ll spend those winnings and driving as if there’s noone else on the road. WTF is that? Avoidance of responsibility is what it is.
Don’t blame my poor financial sense for my bankruptcy, it was bad luck.
Don’t blame my bad driving for the accident, it was just bad luck.
Mike, if there’s one thing you can do in this last month before you hang up your vest and baton that is to drill these people on cause and effect. Don’t let them shrug their collective shoulders and write this one off to bad luck. They have to be made to understand that collectively, their sloppy behaviour and 差不多-ism killed this child. No excuses. It’s a crying shame this girl died, but make sure it means something in long run.
Oh, and 
for the job well-done thus far. Aside from the accidents you’ve prevented in the last five years, you’ll also have imprinted a sense of responsibility and public service into your own offspring that precious few kids in this country will ever have. That alone is worth the effort.
[quote=“hsiadogah”]Don’t blame my poor financial sense for my bankruptcy, it was bad luck.
Don’t blame my bad driving for the accident, it was just bad luck.[/quote]
That probably plays a big part. Also, its the me first mentality. As in this case she pulled out because she was first. I was riding to work thinking about posting a “me first” thread probably as the accident was happening and I was dodging cars pulling out.
Its pull out or start first then look. You see it from walkers to riders to drivers. That may be where Taiwan could start with some sort of education program.
[quote=“xtrain_01”]is there any way to get a story like this into a (Chinese) newspaper or on tv? after all, there are how many thousands of other schools that may have the same kind of incidents every day …
[/quote]
I sent links to this thread to the China Post and the Taiwan Times. In Canada or America school would have been canceled for the day…and most likely the week. That’s horrible…but I hope you really lay into the crossing guards that allowed this to happen by not following your example.
Ok, now I feel really sad.
I’ve seen far too much of this.
Makes me want to do something when my son goes to school.
has nantaoyuan cable TV been around? i always thought that they weren’t much better than the mob but if they ever used even a small percentage of their “dead air” time to local public service announcements it would offset their shite service.
How about a mass foreigner protest?
I’d go. I got this gear ninja costume I’ve been dying to wear.
Seriously let’s rally the troops and get some long noses on the cameras.
I was at the school on a day MJB had his wisdom teeth out and was taking a day off (I was taking care of his kid for the afternnon). You know what? He showed up anyway, with his jaws swollen and all and you should have seen the parents, bushi-ban buses, scooter punks–all the Fers–toe the line. He really kept the crossing safe for a long time. Now, with more responsibilities he’s unable to do the same everyday. I am saddened by this incident and incredibly angry. You’d think the Fers would have learned from his excellent example! AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!
I applaud your efforts and maybe things do return to the usual retard rodeo the second you leave but for the time you are there you are providing a safer environment.
Never give up in the face of overwhelming stupidity just take solace in your efforts
:bravo:
A few days ago I mentioned to MJB that I nearly pulled a HESS mini bus driver out the window of his bus because he was driving like a lunatic dropping kids off in our estate. Only thing that stopped me was my Taiwanese lady telling me to leave him alone and the shock of pulling up and seeing that the guy was not some punk kid but a middle aged normal looking man.
Suprise was to be told by MJB that Wookiee had just been through the same process. I also was worried about being run out of the country for pounding on a local.
I posted somewhere a while back I never fight and that is mostly true. I don’t know if a video could be made and sent to the police. MJB has also mentioned applying some “attitude adjustment” to the driver. He had previously banned the driver from being anywhere near his crossing.
If only the police were that diligent!
[quote=“MJB”][quote=“Maoman”]
Don’t be too hard on yourself or your efforts. You’ve made more of a difference then you know. Who knows how many fender benders, scooter smash-ups, and even fatalities you have already prevented?[/quote]
Before I leave though, I plan to make some Major changes to the way that they operate…No, there is no training and I’d like to change that. The no parking areas will be extended even further (I’ve had this done twice already and had speed bumps installed) and hopefull will have the school send all of the volunteers to work with me before I go.[/quote]MJB, I agree with Maoman and all other posters in this thread. I think you have made a big difference and continue to do so. Not only with the lives you yourself have undoubtedly saved but also with the impact you will have had on general attitudes of the people who have seen you at work. I think it’s harder to see this second kind of effect but I’m sure it’s there.
I agree with MM and Joe. It has got to tear your heart out to know this child died for such a senseless thing as parking close to the school, not to mention no helmet.
The thing you could do though is seek consolation and peace of mind when you are on the job, showing the TW how it should be done! 
Message to all. (not to make light of all previous veiws expressed.)
Here is a new approach to stupidity on the road! (I swear it works.)
Step 1.
Buy yourself a whistle. (I purchased mine for NT$15.)
Step 2.
Anytime you leave the house, take the whistle.
Step3.
Carry it in your hand. Anytime you see stupidity, blow that whistle as hard as you can and quickly resume an innocent pedestrian stroll, like nothing happened.
I found this to be if not helpful, but extremely entertaining.
On a side note.
I drove to Fu Shing Shan today.
I have never seen so many idiots not wearing helmets. I was truly enchanted by the lack of strength the law has in Taiwan.
The least you can do on two wheels is protect your brains.
Mind you, it tooks years of public announcements, advertising and stiff fines to convince Australians that riding a bicycle without a helmet was not cool.
Thus, if such an effort in Taiwan was to take place, would it not tip the balance in favour of positive and safe road rules in chaos?
MJB That is very tragic indeed.
Don’t give up on your efforts. You have likely prevented several of these incidents already.
It might seem like locking stable doors after the horses have bolted, but this might drive home to the other traffic guards, teachers, parents, kids etc. WHY you have been so strict. They will probably appreciate you more than ever now, and it might be a time to reinforce (or introduce) the expectations that the guards have of the drivers, etc.
Please keep up the wonderful effort you have put in thus far.
MJB: :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: :bravo:
this unnecessary and tragic loss of a young life was due to the selfishness and stupidity inherrant in Taiwanese society… don’t blame yourself for other’s reckless irresponsibility, you have already gone more than the extra mile to set and example for others to look up to…
Sorry to hear MBJ. You are one heck of a man, and anyone having you work with them is blessed. If I have learned anything, it’s that the difference we make is never the one we seek to make. You efforts haven’t gone unnoted, it’s just gonna take some time for the seed to blossom. But it will…
Beercan,
I have one of those tiny Panasonic phones. I keep it in my pocket, and whenever someone does something stupid, I pretend to take a pic with my phone. Usually of their license plates. It always gets the parents really uncomfortable when I take ‘pics’ of their kids with no helmets.
[quote=“Battery9”]Beercan,
I have one of those tiny Panasonic phones. I keep it in my pocket, and whenever someone does something stupid, I pretend to take a pic with my phone. Usually of their license plates. It always gets the parents really uncomfortable when I take ‘pics’ of their kids with no helmets.[/quote]
I think most parents would be “uncomfortable” if some stranger was taking pictures of their kids. 
This thing about helmets is not unique to Taiwan. Florida used to have a helmet law. It was repealed. Now all the bikers ride without helmets. :loco:I know this: a helmet saved my life in 1984. 