yesterday as i was walking home, down an alleyway that leads to my street some guy in a car was coming up behind me and beeped for me to get out of the way, well, there wasn’t really anywhere to go it is a tight alleyway and there is also some crap sticking out of the wall from a temple that makes it an even tighter fit. also i was basically meters from the end of it anyway. the guy didn’t seem to care and just plowed on through, hitting me against the wing mirror and coming seriously close to my foot. luckily i was unscathed. they stopped, but didn’t get out of their car, and just seemed concerned with their mashed up wing mirror. some locals including the temple guy were staring at me like i was in the wrong, i’m assuming because i am foreign i would automatically be placed in the wrong, as in china. i have also heard that there is a lot of gangsters here, or that you can be sued for simply swearing at someone. anyway, i just got a good look at them and moved on.
i didn’t think about police until afterwards. would the police do anything for this sort of situation? luckily i was fine but a little bit closer and my foot could have messed up and i would be limping around like half the dogs here.
any other stories are welcome too. i also saw a guy get knocked off his feet last week by a slow moving car, so its gotta be a pretty common occurrence.
While StuartCa is right, I think you wouldn’t get far with this case in any country. “I almost got hit, but there was no damage, and no I don’t have any evidence to prove it” isn’t a lot for an officer of the peace to go on.
A similar thing happened to me. I was walking from work, on the side of the road right next to a wall, when a car approached and the fecking idiot driver clipped me. The car stopped, no one got out, and I started shouting. I remembered that I was still near the school, so I walked away. Wouldn’t want any parents seeing me like that…
Good thing you didn’t call the police; if you are not on the right side of the white/red line and get hit, it’s your fault and you can be sued. If there is no line, I wouldn’t be surprised if the courts side with whoever received the most physical/property damage, which in this case, seems to be them.
Hehe. I really don’t think that’s true anymore. There seems to be more foreign drivers than they were in the past. I think I now know more foreigners who drive cars than ride scooters.
Hehe. I really don’t think that’s true anymore. There seems to be more foreign drivers than they were in the past. I think I now know more foreigners who drive cars than ride scooters.[/quote]
Yes but remember all the foreigners who drive in Taiwan have to become “asian drivers” too, if they hope to survive. And that is a fact !
sorry to hear that happened to you… although pedestrians don’t have the right of way in Taiwan, this guy simply sounds like an asshole to me… most people do wait until it’s safe to pass… as for swearing at people here… be careful what you say, especially telling Taiwanese to fuck off… it makes them explode and become very aggressive and I speak from experience… you can’t be sued for swearing but you can get your head bashed for it…
also it would appear that many Taiwanese feel that if they are driving an expensive car, they have the right of way… taxis and other vehicles that drive for a living are included in this thinking as well, as they are working… and making money
Yea but when you do yield the ped takes about 20 minutes to cross the street, listening to his smartphone or playing angry birds… Hate to say it but many peds are just as bad as the drivers.
Indeed you are right to note that out on the street there is a pervasive lack of consideration for others. But where this analogy fails is that the pedestrians are not recklessly hurtling about thousands of kilograms of steel! :fume:
Bad pedestrians do as much as damage as drivers because due to their lack of consideration it can force other drivers to take evasive maneuvers, which can cause accidents.
I believe it’s safe to say that some of the reckless drivers I’ve seen out there do not need any extra prompting to do stupid things. But yes courtesy–from all parties–would certainly help.
