:roflmao: That was a joke, right?
No one in this thread is arguing against safety. Iâm all for safety. Itâs just some people are barking up the wrong tree. Thatâs disappointing.
:roflmao: That was a joke, right?[/quote]
How many accidents do you see on a monthly basis? I see a few more than what I did back home where most people observed traffic laws, thatâs it. Give the people here credit where credit is due. Itâs actually not as bad as what you think.
[quote=âSlowRainâ]Almost anything can be dangerous if done without due care and attention. Traffic in Taiwan can be hectic at times, but a lot of what he lists seldom causes accidents because most localsâcontrary to the post aboveâdo it safely. Itâs just a minority of people who arenât very careful when they drive. With so much traffic on the roads, a little care and attention goes a long way to keeping everyone safe.
I went to the supermarket this afternoon and sawâand committed!!!âall kinds of traffic violations. Iâll have you know that everyone did it safely and deftly. No one was hurt.[/quote]
Limits and boundaries are set to avoid situations you donât want to happen, and theyâre set in a conservative way, true. Now, idiots (and they are plenty) break these laws with a total lack of understanding of the situations they can create. Actually to have an accident could be seen something pretty unlikely to happen, but they happen. Why? because the total lack of awareness of problems and consequences that plague here. Itâs not that I think Iâm better than locals, itâs that I see people riding and driving, and I have riden myself long enough for seeing lots of problems and consequences that prove what I see and think.
To take you 2 yo kid without helmet is OK, itâd be very bad luck to have an accident. TRUE! Now, even though it is really unlikely thing to happen, I already saw one.
But you better shut up and blend with the locals⌠OK.
(Even if some locals seem to be civilized enough for seeing the same problems foreigners point out. We all might be twats, as you said)
:roflmao: That was a joke, right?[/quote]
How many accidents do you see on a monthly basis? I see a few more than what I did back home where most people observed traffic laws, thatâs it. Give the people here credit where credit is due. Itâs actually not as bad as what you think.[/quote]
I see LOTS of accidents, some days none some days even 2 or 3, no kidding. The reason because accidents do not happen more often or they donât end up totally fucked up is because traffic is so dense and slow in most of the areas.
:roflmao: That was a joke, right?[/quote]
How many accidents do you see on a monthly basis? I see a few more than what I did back home where most people observed traffic laws, thatâs it. Give the people here credit where credit is due. Itâs actually not as bad as what you think.[/quote]
I drove past the remains of three different accidents today. Giving the locals credit for driving safely is ridiculously ignorant. It is exactly as bad as I (and obviously others) think it is.
I see nothing to disagree about. Awareness is what Iâve been suggesting all along.
But only for yourself ? 
:roflmao: That was a joke, right?[/quote]
How many accidents do you see on a monthly basis? I see a few more than what I did back home where most people observed traffic laws, thatâs it. Give the people here credit where credit is due. Itâs actually not as bad as what you think.[/quote]
I drove past the remains of three different accidents today. Giving the locals credit for driving safely is ridiculously ignorant. It is exactly as bad as I (and obviously others) think it is.[/quote] Were they committing any of the violations mentioned in this thread? Because we have accidents where Iâm from, too.
When i first visited here i thought how the hell do you cross the road, why cant i walk on the pavement without dodging a stand or a scooter a parked car, riding pillion for the first time on my wifes scooter scared the shit out of me. I did not fancy driving here at all and im a very experienced driver but in time like you do i got used to the ways here. Ive seen plenty of accidents most of them involving scooters and guess what most of the accidents could have been avoided by more careful driving, better observation, being able to read the road and better anticipation. Ive seen bottlenecks caused by some idiot driving down the street the wrong way and other totally avoidable situations caused by bad road positioming, failure to use indicators, because they dont look. Have you seen some of the you tube videos of accidents on the freeways some of them a driver suddenly loses control starts fishtailing all over the road because theyve panicked, theyve not been aware of anpther vehicle in another lane, thats inexperience mate, thats the action of a learner driver when suddenly presented with a situation they dont know how to handle.
In my opinion the standard of driving here is shit i would NOT want drivers in my country driving like them. Its basically anarchy here on the roads and the level of selfishness is unbelievable. You say alot of their actions are not dangerous i beg to differ and driving on the sidewalk whats that all about? The Taiwanese just dont like being inconvenienced when on the road and just wave a dismiissive right hand at the laws.
But only for yourself ? [/quote] Do you mean only awareness for myself?
:roflmao: That was a joke, right?[/quote]
How many accidents do you see on a monthly basis? I see a few more than what I did back home where most people observed traffic laws, thatâs it. Give the people here credit where credit is due. Itâs actually not as bad as what you think.[/quote]
I drove past the remains of three different accidents today. Giving the locals credit for driving safely is ridiculously ignorant. It is exactly as bad as I (and obviously others) think it is.[/quote] Were they committing any of the violations mentioned in this thread? Because we have accidents where Iâm from, too.[/quote]
Itâs a safe bet.
You donât know is what youâre saying. Couldâve just been crowded Sunday traffic. Couldâve been inattentiveness. Couldâve been a dog running across the road.
gareth186, I donât think we disagree as much as what you think we do.
It all boils down to poor driving.
It all boils down to poor driving.[/quote]
Yes. I say inattentiveness on the part of a few, whereas some suggest traffic violations by the masses as well. I say the latter contributes far less than what some people on here would like to think.
Driving through a red light, youâll get away with it for a while; and then youâll be taken out or take somebody out. Itâs not a minor thing.
Couldâve been peak hour week day traffic. Couldâve been 3 AM no traffic so I can go really fast and bust the red lights. Couldâve been I was riding on the sidewalk so there shouldnât be another vehicle coming the other way. Couldâve been I was carrying a six-foot long crowbar crosswise on the scooter floor on my way to work at the construction site and some idiot go too close despite my beeping the horn at a hundred miles an hour 'coz Iâm late. Couldâve been my visability and steering ability was affected by the bags of laundry or 4 kids Iâm carrying on my scooter. Couldâve been 'coz I assumed all the kids on scooters and bikes wouldâve swerved out of my way when they saw my big black Mercedes barrelling down the scooter lane overtaking the poorer folk in their slowcars.
The old coulda, shoulda, woulda defense.
I hate to pile on, but here in neighboring Okinawa Iâve seen a total of 5 accidents in the last 4 months. 2 of which were on a US military base and one if the ones off base involved a US soldier who had rear-ended someone. Both of the others were single car accidents due to rainy conditions (they use coral in the pavement here, so it gets slippery). Keep in mind my job has me driving all day.
One might note Japanese are kind of rule followers for the most part. One might also note that, in general and barring the usual suspects, theyâre quite polite drivers.
When I visited your fair country neither of these things appeared to be true of Taiwanese driversâŚ
Just saying.
Sent from my fingers using the internet.
Anyway no matter what our individual positions are on the matter, nothing is going to change (thank goodness) by means of police enforcement, unless you live in Taipei where they love giving out tickets for everything and doesnât and hasnât to this day improved safety one wit.
I stay down here in the south and can pretty much do whatever it is I feel like on the road within reason. I will agree with HH on his issue of sidewalk riding and some of the crazy drivers he experienced while walking the kids.
For me, is not riding on the sidewalk that bothers me but the people who do that and ride at a high speed down the sidewalk toward you expecting you to move. That is the type of gold that should be ticketed, not the guy driving slow looking for a parking space or using the sidewalk to try to avoid having to do a 3 point scooter turn due to a poorly thought out center barrier in front of someones apartment
Targeted enforcement is what is needed, not a willy nilly give tickets to everyone approach for revenue generation.