Foreign Teacher Hit by Car in Keelung

I think a lot of people would see that car coming and try move, he was just standing staring into the distance right until it hit him.

Driver was prob texting or something, that is quite the mistake to make.

not true my friend - the majority of people will just freeze which is a normal human behavior.
i think he didn’t even see that missile coming to him

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unfortunate then.

Yeah, people don’t believe something so ridiculous could possibly be happening. The trick is to act on impulse. Always assume that the driver is a total fucking retard.

Oh, and has been mentioned several times - you can never zone out on the streets here. That probably applies anywhere, but is particularly important here.

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I’ve seen in Kaohsiung before many times , a guy causes an accident and gets on the phone… not to call 119 but his friends to come out and help him, meanwhile the person he hit is on the road bleeding
The first consideration is their financial impact

I’m sure the guy will get a good settlement. The driver will feel generous offering him his exact medical bill amount after nhi. /s

Yep, as a battle-hardened expat told me “Stay alert, or you’re gonna be dirt”.

This is a freaking terrible accident. My and everybody’s best wishes to him. Let’s face it, this could have happened to each of us.

I do wonder though how does actually the insurance-system is working and who is paying the hospital bill.
I have heard, that the “victim’s” personal NHI will have to cover the costs - is that actually true ?

Moreover, the “victim” might sue the likely responsible driver for private compensation, which there are ways Taiwanese are going around with “that” …

Does Taiwan not have a compulsary “third-party” insurance covering all possible damages (both material and personal) ?

In my country (Germany) nobody is allowed to drive anything faster than 20 km/h without such proper insurance. If you don’t pay, the police will search for the vehicle to shut it down. If you don’t pay and still drive and causing an accident, that person will be in deep legal trouble.
In such cases the “victim” though still get whole insurance-cover (the insurance itsself will deal with the driver who drove without insurance.

The system works very well in Germany and yes, it makes car ownership more expensive - on the other side that might be a good idea to have fewer cars and scooters on taiwanese roads anyway.

Any thoughts ?

I’ve survived a lot of car wrecks and collisions and I have to say that that is a world of ouch. Best of luck to him and I hope he recovers well.

I’ve noticed this. So the standard reasonable action in Taiwan is to call friends and family first to come, and then call emergency?

Why do you put victim in quotation marks?

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Reminds me of times when I’m walking down the street, and someone on a bike is coming the opposite direction, I see their eyes looking at me, and then the bike tends to start coming directly towards me. This happens a lot and I can almost count on it when I see a bike coming my direction.

Like they are subconsciously following their eyes towards the point where they are fixated, which happens to be me the foreigner.

This is, in fact, the best case scenerio. I am amazing at how many clowns on wheels are not looking where they are going–staring sideways, or staring at the phones…

Guy

Fixation on an object has in fact resulted in drivers/ riders hitting something that they were fixated on.

Drunk or not.

I remember a police car hitting some people on bikes because the officer was looking at them on a curved road and just ran into them.

And just a few days ago a drunk driver on the freeway ran into a highway patrol cruiser that was on the side of the freeway. Killing one officer and seriously injuring the other. The drunk driver was not killed, not sure if he was hurt.

Drivers/riders CAN actually run into something that attracted their attention, drunk or not.

Remember if you ever was out to hit a baseball, that you are told to watch the ball? This way your body can better hit it, if you WATCH THE BALL.

I am not really certain the person who causes the accident, or anyone affiliated with them, makes any effort to call emergency. Imam sure they will spend every second trying to find a way to blame the victim, or who knows who. If emergency is called, its either by the victim or some uninterested 3rd party.

Why not Keelung Chang Gung? Neihu Tri Service is a good distance from Keelung… seems a bit odd of a choice.

He was brought to local hospital first and then to Neihu for specialist surgery.

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Hopefully he got some stabilizing and painkilling done before the ride to Neihu.

I think the responsibility for this accident is quite obvious to any reasonable observer. Had the foreigner not come to Taiwan, this would have never happened! Hence, blame the foreigner. Besides, why was he standing on the sidewalk? Sidewalks are for scooters to ride on, cars to park on, and shops or mechanics to extend their business onto! Silly foreigner! He just doesn’t understand our culture!

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Making that 119 call is almost like an admission of guilt.

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I am laughing, yet crying at the same time…your words are truer than you think. I read this to my wife and she said “That is pretty much the attitude here.”

Hell, they would blame Donnie Darko for the jet engine that fell on him. His fault for sleeping there.