So, here’s my situation. I have a driver license from my home country, that I got 5+ years ago (seems like an eternity ago) and haven’t sat behind a wheel since then…
Fast forward to now, I’m living in Taipei/New Taipei area and I’m at a point where I need to be able to move around more independently. But the thought of just driving in the streets without some round of practice scares me, to be honest.
The driving culture seems so hectic here, and completely different than what I’ve learned, so I’d love to find a good way to practice. I hear driving lessons here are pretty much useless - since they are designed to pass the driving test. Bear in mind I already have a license that I can convert into a local license, so I don’t care about the test.
My question is: do you know where I can find REAL and useful driving lessons in ACTUAL streets (not a circuit), with a teacher? Something that would help me get my chops back?
Alternative question: am I overthinking this? should I just rent a car and figure it out while driving? Seems a bit crazy to me, since it’s been so long since I drove.
Would appreciate any input,
Have a great weekend everyone
The best way is to get your licence exchanged and hit the road directly! F everyone else, you are only responsible for what’s in front of you.
I’m kidding. But a teacher is not necessarily going to teach you all the bad habits people pick up here. You likely are going to have to observe and copy. For being responsible of what’s in front of you, that is largely true.
Though, for someone in the GTA, why even bother with driving when parking is such a hassle and the public transport is good?
In my own experience, I just hit the road directly with an International permit and it wasn’t that bad to get used to.
Yeah , just take it easy , however be careful with the scooters , bus , taxis , trucks , bicycles pedestrian …
I remember my first drive in Taiwan was from Gongguang to Tamsui with I-rent on a Saturday morning , not a good idea because there was a lot of traffic and many red lights
You will soon figure out that “driving” is not that difficult here , however there are other “things” that could take more time , like for example plan ahead your trips , choose which route is better in Google Maps , find parking space , music playlists , podcasts and so on…
Driving here is the same as most other places with pavement. The difference is the psychology of drivers (people). Study hard how taiwanese think and rationalize things.
You cant drive safe without knowing the culture, objective fact. In every region, always.
Pay VERY close attention to how people tend to act. And practice somewhere less busy in the beginning. If you assume every person is a lawsuite looking for victims, you will do well. Just remember, it’s not actually paranoia if its true
If you are still learning to operate different machinery, just find private lands that are open. Or public lands that are closed. River beds on sundays without trucks are great places to test yor vehicle for emergency measures. Empty parking lots for general steering at low speeds etc.
Go find quiet areas with friends that know local laws and rules and oddities and can generally understand the signage. Avoid rice fields and small lanes but find a little small general quiet town area. Off Rush Hour.
Maybe take the train to small town within an hour or so of Taipei and rent a car at the local train station.
Finding a quiet area Northern Taiwan is not so easy.
We just moved here from the states and I’m not looking forward to that first drive either. But the driving here seems much less aggressive than the US. People seem to take their time and not make aggressive movements cause of all the scooters.
So it doesn’t look so hard. Also the scooters seem to do a good job avoiding you. I commuted in Italy rush hour, now that was crazy.
I’m also afraid to drive here and the reason why is the scooters. It was already difficult to drive around bikers in AZ. I’m a good driver, never had an accident (other than someone rear ending me when I was stopped at a red light)
But still, those scooters weave in and out of traffic like crazy and I’m just worried I’m going to merge into a scooter in my blind spot
Like I said, you are responsible for what is in front of you. The vehicles with their nose ahead of yours are in front of you. If they are in front of you, you give way.
the glass half full aspect is that if you drive full retard, taiwan takes it as normal and you may get the odd horn.
but you should be on high alert here. far more diligence needed to drive PROPERLY here. most dont care and eventually have legal stress in their lives. easier to avoid in my opinion.
Anyone that drives often or for work have numerous cameras. taxi often have at least 5 covering the normal aspects (dashcam, both mirrors and frontan back). that’s how bad the country is with special awareness. worst case, at least have proof you weren’t at fault. traffic scams and police are notoriously unreliable, so dont assume. it is quite disparaging
The biggest problem driving east coast is the western and northern tourists. fuck me! the driving there is equaltto the west, but far less density. unlike the west, the police in the east make their days full by tickets. one should follow speed limits;)
I’ve been telling my kids that when walking on the street. Sometimes they decide to run across the intersection, or fool around while scooters are going by. Need to kill that habit asap. Taiwan seems not used to unpredictable behavior.
Also once when I took a taxi to TSMC, the female driver would cross the yellow line and pass 10 cars, then get back in our lane. Now that’s something I’ve never seen in the US.
I think Taiwan is used to it based on how often it happens. unpredictable behaviour is predicted. The issue is quantity so there are still lots of accidents due to wholesale quantity of poor driving.
My favourite is when the Shanghai taxi driver overtook multiple cars on the right on a highway…in the exit lane and barely missed the guardrail from when the exit lane separates from the highway.
Taiwanese drivers, cyclists and pedestrians are the unpredictable ones, I don’t drive but cycle a lot. you have to be on high alert at all times, sudden turns without indication is so common. Including pedestrians.
at all times, sudden turns without indication is so common. Including pedestrians.