Sigh. I guess I just don’t cut it with the funny guys of forumosa. I’m devastated. 
[quote]Actually both. I really want to learn how to drive and figure that as most cars are automatic, it can’t be that difficult. I have a good sense of distance etc. and have good road sense (but not driving a car). It’s the ability to be able to hire a car with an international licence that I want/need. And fast. I don’t mind the go-cart track thing to get a feel for driving a car and I feel confident that once I get that car-feel I can then readily transplant the technical side to my already good and conscientious road sense. Am I being naiive here? I don’t know…
NT$10,000 is bugger all really. [/quote]
Well I did it a year and a half ago. Learnt to drive here, that is. I should say did a driving course and got my licence.
But I really don’t think it’s goign to do you much good unless you have a car here, or regualr access to one, so that you can actually practice - ie really learn to drive on actual roads with traffic.
I got my licence so that I could drive my parents car while I was on holiday in NZ. It turned out that the driving course here prepared me so little for the actual realities of driving, that I was not confident enough to drive the car around anything but quiet backstreets without someone who could drive in the passenger seat. There’s no way I’d hire a car in another ocuntry, or Taiwan, until I’d had some time to practice on the roads here, around my house. And I’ve been scootering Taiwan for 7 years or so, so I’ve got that road awareness too.
Brian
[quote=“Bu Lai En”]Well I did it a year and a half ago. Learnt to drive here, that is. I should say did a driving course and got my licence.
But I really don’t think it’s goign to do you much good unless you have a car here, or regualr access to one, so that you can actually practice - ie really learn to drive on actual roads with traffic.[/quote]Bu Lai En is right that real road practice, preferably in the presence of a tutor or at least an experienced, trained driver, is very important. The test here will ensure that you have some measure of technical control over the vehicle, but this needs to be developed and there is a lot more that should be learned in addition if you want to become a reasonably safe driver.
It is said that you only really learn to drive after you pass your test. There is some truth in this.
[quote=“Bu Lai En”]And I’ve been scootering Taiwan for 7 years or so, so I’ve got that road awareness too.[/quote]I’m sure that you have, Brian, but it bears pointing out that mere scootering experience on its own is not a guarantee of road awareness. A look down any street will confirm this.
Road awareness requires continued effort. At first it tends to consist mainly of trying to be aware of what is happening all around one’s vehicle. This soon has to be augmented by the development of predictive and planning abilities. This means that you see potentially dangerous situations before they develop and plan possible actions while at the same time maintaining that all-round awareness. It is not easy and it is a continuing process. Driver training can help greatly with this.
The others are trying to be polite…since I feel strongly about the issue I’ll be more direct.
There is no way in hell you be prepared to do more than drive around in circles in parking lots, no matter what you previous scootering skills might be, and to deny this fact will only add you to the endless list of incompetent fools that already ply Taiwan’s roads.
Sorry man… :s Three weeks simply isn’t enough time to make it second nature. Bu lai en was humble/wise enough to admit the training he received was nowhere near adequate to drive safely on the roads of any country, let alone Taiwan.
One time in Taipei many years ago, I saw a man pinned between a car and a bus, with very obvious broken legs. Further still, the driver of the car in front had the car in reverse with her foot floored on the gas. The driver behind her kept trying to back up, but in her panic she left her foot on the gas and kept pinning the guy into the bus behind her. A bystander finally dragged her out of the car and pulled it forward.
It’s one of the most common mistakes new drivers make when faced with an emergency braking situation and are unfamiliar with the pedal placement.
Find a mentor, spend three or 4 months with him/her driving daily before you venture onto even a remote country road on your own. Count on 3 to 5 years afterwards before calling yourself a competent driver.
No shortcuts for this one I’m afraid…
Around the age of fourteen or so my father got the bright idea that he could make a bit of money by flying from Victoria BC to Calgary Alberta and buying trucks which we would then drive them back to Victoria, fix up and sell again. He would frequently take me on these little excursions and by the time we got to banff or so he would be too pissed to drive. It would then be left to me to drive the remaining 500 miles or so back through the mountains to the West coast. I’ve driven a cab, a beat up old five ton water tank in snow storms, dump trucks, motorcycles, sports cars… If you asked me now would I feel confident to drive around Taipei I’d say you gotta be crazy to drive in Taipei and I ain’t that crazy.
Three weeks training gets a person driving the streets of this city. Wow that is :loco:
Three weeks of training is barely been enough to get you started safely on the quiet streets of a sleepy little town. Two years of actual driving experience in the average N. American city plus demonstration of a particularly attentive attitude and above average competence would be the minimum I’d recommend before driving on the streets of Taipei.