I’ve heard the one can drive a 50cc and under scooter w/o a drivers license. Is that true?
[quote=“Surf Punk”]I’ve heard the one can drive a 50cc and under scooter w/o a drivers license. Is that true?[/quote]It’s true. 50cc scooters have a green license plate and no DL is required. Anything above 50cc will have a white plate and you need a DL to legally ride it.
50cc scooters have a white licence plate and yes, you do need a licence to operate one.
[quote=“sulavaca”]50cc scooters have a white licence plate and yes, you do need a licence to operate one.[/quote]What? Not in Kaohsiung. In the south they are green platers. There is a minimum age to ride them but no DL required. I’m pretty sure you are wrong, sulavaca. Are you saying that there are no green plates in northern Taiwan?
50cc scooters have green plates and you can drive one legally if you have a car license (a scooter license is needed for above 50cc).
Oh… I remember now. Need a car DL. I forgot. Sorry.
Let’s face it… You don’t need a license to drive anything in Taiwan! You can drive on bald tyres, no lights (when dark), no helmet, no exhaust, park where you like, drive on whatever side of the road suits you and no one gives a F**k
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Sorry Sulavaca, but 50cc’s have green plates. I have been pulled over on my 50cc numerous times for making rights on reds and never once have the police asked for my license.
My roommate got pulled over the other day on his 125cc and he showed the cop his Canadian drivers license and the cop was ok with that. I know this doesnt always work though.
Anyway, I wouldnt be too worried about riding a 50cc without a Taiwanese drivers license, but anything above you should get one.
Correct me if I’m wrong but it’s a liability issue. Essentially, you’re automatically at fault if you’re involved in an accident without the required DL since you’re not supposed to be on the road in the first place.
I don’t think anybody really knows and you’ll likely get away without a DL. But as the dollar costs go up (serious personal injury) then the chances that you’ll be in the wrong also go up. And the written (or driving) tests aren’t that hard to pass. Yes, there are some terrible translations but it’s not impossible.
Technically you’re not supposed to ride a >50cc scooter on an international license unless you have a motorcycle endorsement from your home country.
But if someone were a non-English speaking foreigner then I think it would be impossible.
Yes and no! It just depends on where you live and if the cops are cool or not. I have been in a few small fender benders here and I have never been asked to show my license. Yes, having a license is the best thing to do.
This seems to be my mistake. I used to own a 50cc myself and it had a white plate with black letters and numbers. Thinking back though, it was a friend of the wife’s that worked in the MVO which managed to get me a presidential licence plate so that I’d never get ticketed. I didn’t realise it didn’t share the same colour as the other 50ccs. Sorry for causing confusion.
You can use either a local car licence or an international licence (check licence categories within) to operate a 50cc.
It’s a $6,000 fine if you are caught without a license. It only takes an afternoon to get one. Why do so many people, who would NEVER drive in their home country without a license, suddenly think it is perfectly fine to drive in Taiwan without one?
It’s a $6,000 fine if you are caught without a license. It only takes an afternoon to get one. Why do so many people, who would NEVER drive in their home country without a license, suddenly think it is perfectly fine to drive in Taiwan without one?[/quote]
I was just told a story about how a 500NT ticket became a 5500NT ticket because he didn’t have a license. You might get away with it for awhile but there’s a chance you don’t.
It’s a $6,000 fine if you are caught without a license. It only takes an afternoon to get one. Why do so many people, who would NEVER drive in their home country without a license, suddenly think it is perfectly fine to drive in Taiwan without one?[/quote]
I was just told a story about how a 500NT ticket became a 5500NT ticket because he didn’t have a license. You might get away with it for awhile but there’s a chance you don’t.[/quote]
Even in Chiayi, more police officers speak English and are quite able/willing to ask to see your license.
Because a lot of things are different in Taiwan than their home country. After a while, you’re just like, “Why bother…nobody else does.” I think of it as assimilating.
I totally understand, and Im not saying trying to encourage people to NOT get a license. In my experience where I live it has never been a problem. I never thought I was going to stay here 7 years, so I just never bothered. But now I have decided to stay, so I will be getting my license, as I just got my APRC as well. I have heard the stories too, but to be honest in my 7 years I have never met one foreigner that has ever been ticketed for not having a license. I’m being serious. The only thing I have ever heard of was once my friend got into a small scooter accident and it wasnt his fault. The cops came and said well since you don’t have a license then you are at fault too. He wasn’t ticketed, but he was forced to fix his scooter himself. I have befriended a local cop at my gym recently and he speaks English. I asked him last night at the gym what he does when he pulls over a foreigner for a traffic violation. You know what he said? He said he lets them go.
Funkymonkey is right though, go and get a license. I will be doing mine very soon. You can get away without having it though, especially if you ride a 50cc around.
The fact that the law isn’t enforced doesn’t mean that it isn’t applicable. Minor accidents may be overlooked and the law may not be enforced. Try crashing into a lady with her baby, even if it’s her fault, and see what happens to you if the baby dies or is seriously injured. You’ll be screwed, all in the name of saving yourself an hour or two to get your DL. Not worth it. I think it’s best to play it safe and get your DL if you’re using a vehicle on public roads. 
In the nearly five years that i have been in Taiwan, I never got an ARC longer than 365 days, and thus was never able to pass any of the licences (car, scooter, heck even boat if I could). It’s not that I don’t want, but this is what you get when you do business jobs with 1 year contracts. If the government was just smart enough to turn around this stupid law, I’d be passing my license tomorrow morning. Passing it is a matter of simply protecting yourself in an environment where you don’t understand everything that goes on. But the Taiwanese state just doesn’t make it simple or even possible for us to do so.
As for riding unlicensed, I have been pulled over dozens of time, and quite often asked for a license. I make sure to only speak fluently in French and speak like a 3 year old in English, answering questions in a completely wrong way (“Do you have Taiwan license?” “Yes Taiwan very nice”), and telling them the scooter belong to a friend.
It has worked every single time. I have had cops telling me in Chinese they knew perfectly well I understood what they said, but each and every time they let me go.
This was always for minor traffic offences though. A friend of mine was pulled over for drunken driving, and neither got out of the fine for the drinking, nor of the fine for unlicensed driving (36 000NTS in total).
If I could, I would. But I can’t. Stupid government.
But did you actually try at the DMV?
All of the teachers on this board work one year contracts and it’s rare that any of them have ARC longer than 365 days (usually 350-365 days). And many of them have licenses (if they wanted…).