dead man can’t defend himself. luckily everything was recorded. wish all the best for the victim and family, he is such a good man.
They don’t say red light stop, green light be careful for nothing here.
What a terribly sad and completely avoidable loss. Remember to look in all directions (including upwards) and always expect the unexpected - because it will happen.
It’s not a stereotype, Are there any instances where a Taiwanese will actually admit to being at fault in a car accident?
I remember cycling on the river paths once and seeing this young kid erratically riding a bike. Without warning he decided to ride straight into an oncoming group of cyclists on the opposite side of the path. He took out an old man on a bicycle and fell down. After getting up, the first thing the kid said was “Not my fault!” It was obviously his fault since he consciously rammed into the group.
3 Likes
sad story. but then again, this is what happens when you use a mad max movie for road laws. this ain’t gonna be the last red light she runs, no chance.
4 Likes
I’ve never experienced it first hand as a victim, hopefully will never will, a bit naive indeed.
There always was a saying that in Ktown stopping at a red light was optional. Being 61 that rider probably had a habit of running red lights perhaps?
At any rate, it is really not safe to ride a scooter/moto in Taiwan. There has been so many cases of people ending up dead or in a coma for life.
The risks are very high.
I actively discourage any of my loved ones from riding. And I myself thought long and hard before i got a moped way back when. After 12k on it, I decided that it was really not safe.
Stay alive, stay off scoots and motos.
p.s. obviously at least wear a helmet !
1 Like
I live in Kaohsiung, and I don’t drive in Taiwan and I convinced my wife to permanently give up her scooter as well. I’ve had students die and be hospitalized in scooter accidents. And not just one. I can think of 1 death, and 3 serious hospitalizations (2 needed wheelchairs for months, and the other needed facial reconstruction). It’s just not worth it. Trains (MRT) and buses are fine for me. It’s a little inconvenient at times, but I’m not eating my meals through a straw.
4 Likes
Actually we have near daily motorcycle down incidents/accidents here in the bay area, and I surmise at least one death per week as a result.
But yes, drivers in Taiwan are pretty bad. You need to drive very defensively.
I am not sure our East Bay drivers are really any better though.
Perhaps the Germans are better overall because on the Autobahn if you make a mistake you generally die.
Just this morning I saw two scooters driving on the wrong side … running a red light … each with a kid in the back … and the kids did not have a helmet!!!
Last week I celebrated when I saw police catch the car in front of me running a red (was red over 4 seconds!). The police was hiding in the bushes and flagged the guy down. Unfortunately this is a very rare sight of law enforcement in Taiwan.
4 Likes
This page has what looks like a video of the accident:
The video seems to come from this page:
I think it’s obvious the Taiwanese woman was at fault. The light for the traffic she crossed into was green. I am not sure that there was even a valid path for her to cross the street. It’s hard to see from the video if the opening was for scooters or just pedestrians. She was also driving illegally on the crosswalk.
So she broke at least two traffic laws, maybe three.
And later she gave false statements when questioned by police. You can remain silent, but lying should be punishable as well. Good that there are so many cameras. Otherwise she could have gotten away with it.
Well… she kinda did anyway.
She will get punished. The victim’s son just said he will not file additional civil court case.
In other words, she won’t get punished. At least not to a degree that will make her aware of the error of judgement she made.
It’s just so easy to lose ones life on a scoot as the vid shows
And often it’s not the one at fault that dies.
So easy to land on ones head…no helmet and you die.
If David had been wearing a good helmet likely he will have been ok
1 Like
According to the video, she has no judgement. Hopefully, she has conscience and will never ride a scooter again.
It’s totally bizarre how she ended up on the sidewalk.
I checked out the intersection on google map. It looks like one of these empty places where people ignore the rules most of the time. The road is wide and empty. Woman is standing in on the street next to the sidewalk scratching something.
Cars are parking on the wrong side of the road ignoring the double yellow line.
If you drive there all the traffic rules are references only. Always drive on sight.
I am not sure in what country you live, but there is such a thing as criminal negligence in Taiwan. Particular in the context of causing bodily harm that results in serious injury or even death.
But let’s go through the proper legal reasoning.
Is running a red light not negligent? It definitely is.
It would be for the court to determine whether death or mere bodily injury would have occurred had the American worn a helmet. The court may see the lack of a helmet as causative in the death. However, in any case with or without helmet, there would be serious bodily harm.
Thus:
negligent behavior (+)
causing death (-)
causing bodily harm (+)
The woman therefore fulfills the objective and subjective criteria for negligent cause of bodily harm according to art. 284 of the ROC Criminal Code:
因過失傷害人者，處六月以下有期徒刑、拘役或五百元以下罰金，致重傷者，處一年以下有期徒刑、拘役或五百元以下罰金。
從事業務之人，因業務上之過失傷害人者，處一年以下有期徒刑、拘役或一千元以下罰金，致重傷者，處三年以下有期徒刑、拘役或二千元以下罰金。
4 Likes
I agree with that, but still think there is a distinction between negligence and severe negligence/gross negligence which should be punished differently.
Gross negligence should also always carry a criminal record.