I’d like to expand on that. Have you noticed that ALL the intersections controlled by 2 traffic lights (as opposed to 4 lights, one on each corner) has the lights on the wrong side of the road? This is without exception, so it can’t be a coincidence. The only reason I can fathom for this major engineering blunder is that their engineering schools must be using a training manual from Japan (where they drive on the left side of the road).[/quote]
urm, quite a few people here (and elsewhere: UK, Australia, NZ, southern africa, india, thailand, malaysia, etc…) may well tell you that that is actually the CORRECT side of the road, as opposed to the right side of the road… which is patently the WRONG side of the road…isn’t it far better to control the steering wheel (very important) with your dominant right hand and the gears (not so often used) with your left hand?(unless you’re a southpaw)
mind you, any way you look at it, it surely is a stupid idea to put the traffic lights on the other side of the road from the traffic. :loco:
I’ve been here in Tainan for about 10 months. I’ve had a car for the last 3 months, but I have ridden a bike here since February for exercise.
Driving here is a weird experience. It is a combination of aggression, respect and acquiesence. I have been on an expressway, signalled to change lanes and started to move over. After I have started to move over (just starting to cross the strip), a car from behind accelerates as though to beat me to the other lane. Once he realized that I was going to securely occupy the space, he slowed up and returned to the lane he left. I expected him to come whistling by at any moment, but he kept dropping back (my speed was constant). It’s like the agression temporarily dies. This does seem to happen more with regular folks and not young guys running tuner cars. They are in a class by themselves and must think themselves to be immortal.
The respect part comes in when people changes lanes. In many cases, people will slow down or move over to let the person in. They seem to be more than willing to do that with no rasised fists or horn blowing. This would be rare in the US.
However, I wouldn’t say that bike riding here is worse than in the US. In the US, bikes are thought to be an annoyance on the streets. For most people in the US it has been a very long time since they rode 2 wheels and have forgotten what it was like. Here, I assume that the majority of people who drive cars had bikes and scooters at some point. I think this makes them more sensitive than US drivers. In the US folks would say that they never saw you. Here they see you, but make their move anyway. Forewarned is forearmed.
Bright lights on always. You will get many locals telling you to turn off your lights in the day. Even though they don’t tell people to turn them on at night…go figure.
Best example I can give of this life saving technique is: One day I was riding to work and I noticed how everyone was driving worse than normal that day…getting cut off more than usual, people pulling out of side lanes in front of me…ect. Then I realized that my light got turned off somehow (as i don’t touch the light switch just leave it on). So, I turned my light on and things got back to normal, which is still pretty bad. But much better than without the light on. In western society all bikes have their lights on all the time, and the smarter riders put their brights on druing the daytime…as they are more noticeable and won’t blind people in the day.
Okay, maybe not driving me crazy, but I’d like some thoughts on the following driving habits of the Taiwanese. Keep in mind I’ve been here and driving for 14 months and still don’t understand the following:
Why some people think they have a right to turn left at a green light in front of oncoming traffic, even if you’re coming at them at full-speed and they obviously know you’ll have to slam on the binders to avoid them.
Why people block access with their cars to minor streets, alleys, rampways for scooters as a rule, not an exception, and then become indignant when you want them to move so you can use the access.
Hardly anyone looks left when entering onto a busy road, yet they manage to stay alive. Why is the onus on the cars and scooters already on the road to avoid them?
Why do people always choose busy intersections to make a U-turn?
Why does almost everyone leave their bright Halogen lights on when they’re parked on the wrong side of the road against oncomming traffic?
I know there must be some sixth sense or just shit-house luck that prevents 100 traffic fatalities a day in each city. But some of the unwritten rules of the Taiwan road are simply baffling. I can drive with the best of 'em in daily traffic, but I swear it will be a long time before I accept some of these things.
A camera/video camera saved my butt on several occasions while driving in Taiwan several years ago. Not only does it insure that the photos the cops take make it to the police station (funny how some of those can disappear) but it also chases off onlookers who would love to have the opportunity to rat out a foriegner to save face for a local. I would like to add that on two occasions AIT has backed me up forcing lazy/crooked cops to actually obey the law. My advice, carry a camera, preferably a video camera and have your trade office on speed dial.
I can’t belive you’re alive either. More than 80% of all accidents take place in intersections. And to enter an intersection while close enough to a truck to be hidden from other peoples points of view…The accident is obviously not your fault, but you could have easily prevented it.
There are two thoughts that keep me relatively sane on the roads here.
Firstly, I remember that there are actually places in the world where the driving is worse, and that driving conditions here are improving slowly. (I’ve only been here a few years but many oldtimers will confirm this).
Secondly, and more importantly, I try to look on riding/driving here as a big exercise through which I can develop patience. In another thread,[quote=“Mucha Man”]People driving like maniacs, but not truly being maniacs.[/quote]The vast majority of bad driving here is committed through unthinking ignorance, not aggression. Hard to remember this sometimes though.
Riding my scooter last night I was in the first stage of the two-stage left turn thing. I was halfway across when some idiot going in the other direction did a left turn right in front of me, leaning on the horn for a few seconds. Of course he was in the wrong and that horn really wound me up. I was very tempted to ride after him and give him a piece of my mind. But I didn’t, and I felt better for not doing so. Even if I had caught up with him and got a “duibuqi” out of him would he really have gone home that night and said to his wife;
“Hey, maybe that foreigner had a point! Maybe I really do drive like a wanker.”
I think not.
We just have to think of what will really make a positive difference, and what not. It’s very rare that confronting somebody about their stupid actions makes a change in their behaviour. I believe that patience is something that can be developed: a habit that can be acquired, and most of the time when driving/riding here it’s best to look on it as an exercise in patience. I aspire to the calm, relaxed attitude of drivers like MJB.
But it can be very difficult to contain yourself when somebody has such scant regard for your life. Your safety is less important than executing a left turn. Even if there is a completely clear road behind you, drivers will still force you to slow down and stop so they can save what in all honesty is less than a second.
I have to disagree somewhat. While it is true that there is alot of unthinking ignorance here (which I can perhaps forgive them for) it is the attitude of not caring that stands out. People know what they are doing but they just dont care. They can see that they will slow or stop cars and bikes if they turn infront of them, and that it will be dangerous, but they just dont care.
I realise that shouting and swearing will probably do no good and this pisses me off as well, because there is no way that Taiwanese drivers can see the fault in their actions or even care.
I have had mouth ulcers on my tongue on several occaisions because I have literally bitten it so hard stopping myself shouting, swearing or getting out of the car or off my bike and thumping the excrement out of the driver.
We’ll just have to grin and bear it. :fume: :fume: :fume: :fume: [color=red]pie say[/color]
[quote=“Dangermouse”]But it can be very difficult to contain yourself when somebody has such scant regard for your life…
I realise that shouting and swearing will probably do no good and this pisses me off as well, because there is no way that Taiwanese drivers can see the fault in their actions or even care.[/quote]It is very difficult. Include “uncaring” in my definition of unthinking ignorance (though I still maintain that outright aggression without provocation is rare). But in general the only positive thing that can possibly come out of the situation is that you can develop more patience. I think patience is something that can be developed, and that it can benefit us enormously. I’m not very patient yet. But I hope to become as relaxed and calm as some other drivers I know. I’m getting there – slowly.
Yes, patience and a little common sense works well.
When you see that other person doing the wrong thing don’t try to force your right of way because there is no recourse better than avoiding an accident in the first place.
Traffic in some cities is still wilder than the wild wild west. Getting yourself upset does nothing as the other driver doesn’t give a damn anyway.
If you can get a set of truck airhorns mounted under the bonnet. Those who blow louder often win the day and it scares the shit out of those wannabe law breakers when they hear them and stop. People assume they are about to be mown down by an 18 wheeler.
Rule of the day, give way to what’s bigger than you are. If you’re on a scooter and I bump you off I aint gonna feel a thing.
Not many people here ride with their lights on during the day as they think that it will burn their globes out quicker or something. I tell you, I would rather have to replace a globe than get a replacement leg or something! If you do ride with your light on you do stand out which is a good thing.
I can also concurr that drivers notice you more when you have your lights on. Often they notice you in a bad way “I wonder if that idiot foreigner realizes that his lights are on?! He probably doesn’t speak Chinese so what can I do! Idiot!”, but that’s better than them not noticing you at all.
Absolutely! Lights on all the time, even at night.
No shopping bags, complete with carrots and onions, obstruting the headlight.
I have installed battery LED bicycle lights both front and back as additional visibility markers and backup marker lights should my headlights or tail light fail at night.
But even if they do notice you, do you think that they will give a rats arse - they’ll drive straight through you. :s
One can at least try.
I was reading in an American sports bike forum about how many of them keep their brights on…even at night. I personally wouldn’t feel comfortable doing this, but they say other peoples comfort comes second to their lives. Hard to argue with that. I just put a couple of extra blinky lights on that come on with my low-beams for night use. And in the day I use my brights.
Sometimes I have people giving me too much space because my lights are on. For example I see someone starting to pull out to cross the road…and I’m still far away. But they wait for me to go by…because my light freezes them like a deer before they even enter the road…they probably think with a light that bright I must be riding very fast on a big bike or something…when it’s just my scooter.
My last three bikes in the US were “lights on all the time” from the dealer. Being rather old school 'scooter trash this was something I had to adapt to. Although my last bike did allow a slight mod to return it to operator deciding if I wanted them on during the day. By that time I finally decided it was a good idea. Southern California roads can get pretty crazy.
Here in Taiwan, it nerver really occured to me until reading this thread. I think I will try it here and see if it makes any difference.
We’ll see.
This actually works. When I used to drive to emergencies the cars have the blue flashing kind of lights and two powerful white roof mounted lights which are about 4 times brighter than the main beams on cars.
I wouldn’t use them at night except as search lights because they’d melt other drivers eyes, but in the day time the white beams move traffic like Mozes moves water. People assume you are much closer than you are and feel you are going much faster.
For bikes, bright beams are important because it gets you noticed. If people dont pull out because it’s uncomfortable to look at your lights then I dont really care. It’s good to be avoided.
I even drive my car around in the day time with lights on. That way they are always on in the rain, when you drive through wooded roads and through tunnels - and when the sun is behind you in the morning and early evening.
I drove for the first time in Taibei last week and it was not too bad, I must say! Of course, there were 2/3 less cars on the road, but I didn’t get into any near-crashes, noone hit me, I didn’t anyone or any other cars.
I got honked at a couple of times, but hey, that’s expected when you’re the only one following the rulez.
Another “check” on my list of things to do in Taiwan.
quite a few people here (and elsewhere: UK, Australia, NZ, southern africa, india, thailand, malaysia, etc…) may well tell you that that is actually the CORRECT side of the road, as opposed to the right side of the road… which is patently the WRONG side of the road…isn’t it far better to control the steering wheel (very important) with your dominant right hand and the gears (not so often used) with your left hand?(unless you’re a southpaw) 
I often tease my girl that the Taiwanese close their eyes and step on the gas. She doesn’t like that very much…
