Just as bad in PLENTY of other places. And of course I’ve noticed it – not THAT often, though, apart from certain more notorious roads. Doesn’t bother me in the slightest – as I said, if you expect other drivers to act like idiots, then they’re unlikely to surprise you. That’s what my old man taught me nearly 40 years ago and its a mantra that has stood the test of time. It CERTAINLY doesn’t stress me out in the slightest. If it did, I probably wouldn’t drive.
[quote=“tomthorne”]Come on guys. The OP wants to build his confidence to drive. All this negativity ain’t helping.
Oh, fuck it. OP - if you sit behind the wheel of a car in Taiwan you will crash and die in an inferno. Just so you know.[/quote]
Less of the “guys”. I’m pretty much the only one being really negative. And maybe Deuce Dropper, a bit.
The others are mostly sweetness-and-light, rose-tinted-specs, begone-nasty-thoughts, she’ll-be-right, quiet/forceful confidence.
You’re being VERY unfair on them, especially Sandman. :no-no:
Just as bad in PLENTY of other places. And of course I’ve noticed it – not THAT often, though, apart from certain more notorious roads. Doesn’t bother me in the slightest – as I said, if you expect other drivers to act like idiots, then they’re unlikely to surprise you. That’s what my old man taught me nearly 40 years ago and its a mantra that has stood the test of time. It CERTAINLY doesn’t stress me out in the slightest. If it did, I probably wouldn’t drive.[/quote]
So there you have it, OP. The Voice Of Experience
Idiots driving quite fast on the wrong side of the road around blind corners are of not the slightest concern, because you know they are going to do it, so they’re unlikely to surprise you., coming around that blind corner…
Kind of like how its not stressful playing Russian Roulette, because you know there’s a bullet in there…
…and if it is going to stress you out in the slightest, you probably shouldn’t drive.
I think I’ll give my case a rest at that. 
[quote=“Ducked”][quote=“tomthorne”]Come on guys. The OP wants to build his confidence to drive. All this negativity ain’t helping.
Oh, fuck it. OP - if you sit behind the wheel of a car in Taiwan you will crash and die in an inferno. Just so you know.[/quote]
Less of the “guys”. I’m pretty much the only one being really negative. And maybe Deuce Dropper, a bit.
The others are mostly sweetness-and-light, rose-tinted-specs, begone-nasty-thoughts, she’ll-be-right, quiet/forceful confidence.
You’re being VERY unfair on them, especially Sandman. :no-no:[/quote]
I offered sound advice in a tongue and cheek description of every type of vehicle out there on the road. I probably saved the OP’s life, I am a hero.
[quote=“Deuce Dropper”][quote=“Ducked”][quote=“tomthorne”]Come on guys. The OP wants to build his confidence to drive. All this negativity ain’t helping.
Oh, fuck it. OP - if you sit behind the wheel of a car in Taiwan you will crash and die in an inferno. Just so you know.[/quote]
Less of the “guys”. I’m pretty much the only one being really negative. And maybe Deuce Dropper, a bit.
The others are mostly sweetness-and-light, rose-tinted-specs, begone-nasty-thoughts, she’ll-be-right, quiet/forceful confidence.
You’re being VERY unfair on them, especially Sandman. :no-no:[/quote]
I offered sound advice in a tongue and cheek description of every type of vehicle out there on the road. I probably saved the OP’s life, I am a hero.[/quote]
Sure. But you’re a hero that has tasted the power of the Dark Side of The Force
[quote=“Deuce Dropper”][quote=“Ducked”][quote=“tomthorne”]Come on guys. The OP wants to build his confidence to drive. All this negativity ain’t helping.
Oh, fuck it. OP - if you sit behind the wheel of a car in Taiwan you will crash and die in an inferno. Just so you know.[/quote]
Less of the “guys”. I’m pretty much the only one being really negative. And maybe Deuce Dropper, a bit.
The others are mostly sweetness-and-light, rose-tinted-specs, begone-nasty-thoughts, she’ll-be-right, quiet/forceful confidence.
You’re being VERY unfair on them, especially Sandman. :no-no:[/quote]
I offered sound advice in a tongue and cheek description of every type of vehicle out there on the road. I probably saved the OP’s life, I am a hero.[/quote]
Basically, the only decent advice for the OP is don’t drive.
I wouldn’t drive. The stress would be too much for me.
I can’t even walk down the side-walks in Taipei without getting the shits at some inconsiderate ass-hole.
It’s not about not being surprised about idiots doing stupid things, it is the fact that the idiots do the stupid things that endanger your and other people’s lives. And sometimes they are unavoidable as they crash into you. Like I was hit by a van who cut across an intersection to turn left and beat the oncoming traffic, but realised he couldn’t make it so swerved to avoid them and hit me while I was walking carrying my young boy only 14 months old at the time. Guess I was the softer choice to hit. Maybe it was my fault because “I was there”. Oh, he did try to blame me too, but courts saw it differently and I sued his ass.
Actually, I do think the traffic has improved a lot since I first arrived here in 1998. I swear I used to see a scooter or car accident every day, some not so bad, some quite bad. But I might only see one every few weeks now. But I am getting real tired of having to avoid cars and scooters pushing through the red lights and pedestrian crossings while I am trying to cross. I distinctly remember as part of the riding licence test, you had to stop at the pedestrian crossing on the licence test track or you failed.
I used to drive in Australia and still do when I return home. You just get idiots doing different stupid things back home. I guess every where has their idiot drivers. But it kind of makes me laugh when I hear about the road rage attacks in Australia, those poor aggressors wouldn’t know who to aim their rage at if they drove in Taiwan.
Taiwan isn’t really that bad anymore…
People stop now, the drive much more slowly, the actually let you merge sometimes, when gravel trucks run over people, they don’t back up and make sure they’re dead. People don’t attack you with screwdrivers…
I drove my first car in Taiwan 2 days after I arrived, and 24 years later I’m still driving daily. I couldn’t even imagine living here (or anywhere) without having my own wheels, both two and four.
Look, driving here is like driving anywhere…do the test, then do what everyone else does (ignore the assholes obviously) and you’ll be just another bouncing amoeba on the roadways of Taiwan in no time.
[quote=“TaipeiSean”]I wouldn’t drive. The stress would be too much for me.
[/quote]
You really need to drive a bigger car. The one in your picture probably won’t provide enough protection in a side impact, although on the plus side larger vehicles might go right over the top of you assuming you miss the wheels.
Well, in theory, driving a bigger car should give you more confidence, but only in the sense of surviving a collision with less serious injuries than if you were driving a smaller car. But OTOH, a smaller car will be easier to drive in congested trafic. This will at least give you more confidence in terms of avoiding an accident in the first place. So, I would advise driving a smaller car as a way of building up confidence. Obviously, drive one with a good safety rating if you can.
Another thing. For your first few drives, go out at 5:00 or 6:00 am and drive along the major roads that you will use at busier times. Having few road-users to worry about should also help you build up your confidence. However, be aware that because there is much less traffic, you are more likely to have people driving through red lights. That’s just what people do, at least here in Kaohsiung. Anyway, it’s good practice – ALWAYS be aware that, even though you have the green, some idiot may shoot out in front of you without even looking. 
And one more thing. Go for a car with a small engine, otherwise you may become over-confident. At least, that has been my experience. I used to find myself taking more risks in my previous car (a 2.2 litre Honda Accord) because I knew I had a more responsive engine. Now I just putter around in a 1.6 litre Toyota Corona, and feel safer.
No, just big planks of wood. Happened to me earlier this year when I was going the correct way down a one way street and some clown came in from the other end and expected me to reverse all the way back down. He got angry when I wouldn’t so he produced a big stick from the back of his van. Funny thing was the wood was too long and clumsy for him to do anything with. A neighbor came out and had a go at him and after a quick “peisay,” it was all over.
Taiwan is a terrible place to drive, and I have driven in places like London and Paris - to be honest, I found some parts of Paris to be a little hairy. Italy is like Taiwan, except they break the rules in style, but both are nowhere near as bad as Taiwan in terms of selfish, rude and idiotic behaviour.
But comparing traffic in other countries to traffic in Taiwan is probably a bit silly anyway, and saying that you have x amount of years of experience is again, just silly. Experiences are always subjective. Just because it is not stressful to drive here for some people, doesn’t mean that it won’t be for others. The OP has identified a trait of driving personality that s/he possess - nervousness, and that is a trait that the OP will need to be overcome if s/he does not want to become a complete bag of nerves whilst dealing with the traffic situation in Taiwan.
From a personal perspective, I don’t find it all that bad because I am used to it. But I need to remember that I am used to it, because being used to something invites complacency. I do drive about 800 - 1000km per week in a mixture both motorcycle and car and I know the importance of remembering not to be complacent, to realise one’s limits and to remember the limits of others - just like in any other country. However, facts are facts - you are more likely to have an accident, minor or major, in Taiwan than you are in your home country, both because you are immersed in a completely different driving culture than you are used to and because in Taiwan, a good majority of the drivers here are going to behave like immature fools at one time or another.
Driving in Taiwan is going to make you inherit a different driving philosophy to what you already have - you are going to have to adapt your driving behaviour to fit Taiwan because Taiwan is not going to fit around you. But it can be enjoyable and it can be a great experience depending on how you choose to view it.
To some people, driving is second nature, to others, it is a real challenge. Driving in Taiwan requires it’s own special skill set which cannot be acquired anywhere else but on the road, through experience.
To the OP: When you get your car/licence in Taiwan, if you need somebody to sit in with you a couple of times before you go it alone, then PM me. Depending on where you are, I wouldn’t mind in the slightest doing a couple of circuits in the passenger seat with you around town. I have always been hot on the safety of myself and my passengers and also my friends who drive, and I see no reason not to extend this to the wider community.
Just drive defensively, don’t accelerate around corners, don’t try to run the orange light or be too quick off the green, assume the car in front could turn left, right or slow down at anytime, indicate and beep your horn when needed to let them know you are there. Give buses and trucks a bigger berth, check inside mirror when turning but assume there is a scooter even if you don’t see one, dont cut the corner too fine and take turns and obviously. Only time I almost got hit by a scooter was turning too quickly.
Driving is fun sometimes but other times it’s as much fun as getting whacked by a hammer, still of you want to get to know Taiwan driving is the way to do it. Taichung is a great driving city, not everywhere is as crowded as Taipei or as intimidating as the jian guo expressway. Highways can feel hairy at peak traffic times, the 3 is very relaxing usually with light traffic, 1 can be tough with al the trucks and buses with a schedule to keep.