I have a internatinal driving permit that has been endorsed by a local traffic department. A few days ago, I knocked down and ran over a motorcyclist. It was a freak accident and luckily he suffered only minor injuries.
The motorcyclist declined my offer of NT$30K as a form of compensation. Apparently, he is looking to get more $$ out of me (I was driving a Porsche) and threatens to take legal actions.
I have been living in Taiwan for 2 years, holding a work-conditional ARC. My question is: Will it affect my stay here if the problem was taken to court?
[quote=“songzzz”]I have a internatinal driving permit that has been endorsed by a local traffic department. A few days ago, I knocked down and ran over a motorcyclist. It was a freak accident and luckily he suffered only minor injuries.
The motorcyclist declined my offer of NT$30K as a form of compensation. Apparently, he is looking to get more $$ out of me (I was driving a Porsche) and threatens to take legal actions.
I have been living in Taiwan for 2 years, holding a work-conditional ARC. My question is: Will it affect my stay here if the problem was taken to court?[/quote]
I don’t think so.
One thing you might try is bluffing the guy. Tell him that your contract is up and you’re going to be leaving the country at the end of next week and if he doesn’t take the 30k, he’s going to be S.O.L.
You knocked someone down and he had minor injuries and you offered him 30K!? Jez-o-pete! I am picturing him getting up and dusting himself off – faking being rattled – and sees you and the Porche. They you offer 30 large?
My take is you went WAY high in the first offer. Usually people offer NT$1,000 to NT$2,000 or maybe a tad more if pressed.
No wonder he thought he could take you to the cleaners.
Second thing…I was not aware that an International Driver’s Licence could be used in Taiwan. I know that it should be able to be used, but I seem to recall that the restrictions were such that virtually no one was legally able to. Could be wrong on that.
Third…Do nothing. If the guy doesn’t want a fortune for being knocked down, let him try to sue you. Evidence of wrongdoing? Witnesses? Lawyer fees? Forget him.
I have a internatinal driving permit that has been endorsed by a local traffic department. A few days ago, I knocked down and ran over a motorcyclist. It was a freak accident and luckily he suffered only minor injuries.
The motorcyclist declined my offer of NT$30K as a form of compensation. Apparently, he is looking to get more $$ out of me (I was driving a Porsche) and threatens to take legal actions.
I have been living in Taiwan for 2 years, holding a work-conditional ARC. My question is: Will it affect my stay here if the problem was taken to court?
[quote=“wolf_reinhold”]You knocked someone down and he had minor injuries and you offered him 30K!? Jez-o-pete! I am picturing him getting up and dusting himself off – faking being rattled – and sees you and the Porche. They you offer 30 large?
My take is you went WAY high in the first offer. Usually people offer NT$1,000 to NT$2,000 or maybe a tad more if pressed.
No wonder he thought he could take you to the cleaners.
Second thing…I was not aware that an International Driver’s Licence could be used in Taiwan. I know that it should be able to be used, but I seem to recall that the restrictions were such that virtually no one was legally able to. Could be wrong on that.
Third…Do nothing. If the guy doesn’t want a fortune for being knocked down, let him try to sue you. Evidence of wrongdoing? Witnesses? Lawyer fees? Forget him.[/quote]
Tks for the reply. I should have been more specific… after going over him, the ambulance came and took him to the hospital where he received outpatient treatment. The police then arrived and after some investigation, told me I was wrong.
His bike was badly damaged and a local shop wanted 15K for repairs. That explains why I felt it was reasonable to offer 30K and get over with it. Unfortunately, he dosent think so.
International Driver’s licenses are valid for the first 30 days of a visit in Taiwan. After that, they are apparently not valid. Or so I’ve been told by Taipei’s Finest.
It is true. However if the license is issued by a “ROC-approved-nations”, you are allowed to apply for a Taiwanese one, either that or you can get the license endorsed and obtain a recognized driving permit.
I think the point is that if you have been living in Taiwan over two years and are still on an International Permit, it may make your situation a little more complicated, if anyone notices.
AFAIK, it’ll be bringing a civil suit, not a criminal one, so there should not be any problems in that regard.
But
don’t jibe well. Your local endorsement on your int’l licence is usually only valid for your first three months in Taiwan, after which you’re supposed to have a local licence. Plus, int’l licences are only valid for a year.
OK,
So I assume this guy knows where you live and/or work.
I guess I’d say give me all your bills (reciepts) and let me see what the total is. He won’t want to do this, so sorrowfully, tell him that 30K is your final offer and if he wants to go through the bullshit of trying to get more than that out of you in court, be my guest.
Given that you seem to be giving him a more than reasonable offer, I suspect a court, if it ever got that far, would look very unfavorably on this guy. Courts in this sort of thing here look for “doing the right thing” and his refusal of what seems to be more than his actual costs would be doing the wrong thing.
Anyway, don’t get mad at any point and when you feel like it, act dumb…this works for me …and comes naturally…
I’d have thought that, for someone who drives a Porsche and has been pronounced by the police as responsible for causing a nasty accident that sent a poor guy to the hospital and smashed up his motorbike, an offer of at least NT$50,000 as compensation would be in order. If I caused such an accident while driving an expensive sports car, I’d feel morally obliged to pay the victim a fairly substantial sum rather than the bare minimum that I thought would cover his out-of-pocket expenses.
And the court should also rule that you have to drive an 11-year-old Subaru Justy with bad engine knock and a cigarette lighter that works only if the aircon’s turned off.
Interantional Driving permits lose their validity as soon as you take up residence in a country, or after a set period, whichever is earlier (i.e. the 30 or so days mentioned by somebody). However, for some (or all?? not sure…) countries, you can take the international driving license to the MOT and have it validated as a local driving permit. This works by having them chop it on an additional page they paste into the thing (at least the ones I saw were done like this). The problem is that this validation is granted for the duration that the international driving permit itself is valid, i.e. if you have another two years on it, it’s valid as a local license for two years, if it’s only one year, one etc. … I guess it’s this validation that songzzz refers to when he writes
[quote=“Xpet”]…The problem is that this validation is granted for the duration that the international driving permit itself is valid, i.e. if you have another two years on it, it’s valid as a local license for two years, if it’s only one year, one etc. … I guess it’s this validation that songzzz refers to when he writes
right?[/quote]
Right.
The guy rang me again today and asked for NT$200,000… yes… its TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.
The doctor put him in a “medical brace” (6 weeks) as he suffered from ligament damaged.
You were diving an expensive cockmobile so he sees you as a “mark.” Demand a full accounting of all his bills, find out from the hospital how much of his treatment is covered under the health insurance program. This will probably go to arbitration. The cops can direct you to the office you’ll need to go to. Don’t go there in the Porche!
Don’t you have insurance? What does your carrier say about this situation?[/quote]
Yeap. I just got off the phone with the insurance company. According to them, the victim is suppose to claim all medical expenses via his own insurance co. I will therefore only be required to pay for his vehicle repairs and perhaps offer some form of compensation for his pain and grief. That’s about it.
It seems the police are on his side… maybe because I am a foreigner…
