Looks like a pretty stupid intersection to begin with, it looks like there isn’t even a stop sign for the vehicle that hit the bicycle? Nevertheless when things get confusing like that it’s definitely up to the person riding a bicycle/scooter to slow down and assume that the car will not see you/won’t give you the right of way. Riding in at full speed is just asking for something like this to happen. It’s hard for me to process this one though since it’s a left-lane system.
I certainly see enough ridiculous bicyclists here in Taipei weaving through intersections at high speed as if they are Gods of the road… and wonder how they can possibly go through a whole ride without getting smacked.
Was driving home a couple weeks ago, around 9 at night, scooters and car traffic was thick. Guy on a bicycle, decked out in all the gear was at an intersection. He was at the crosswalk, I was a bit behind because of traffic.
Anyhow, the light went green, everyone went forward and after getting up to speed the bicycle guy was going just as fast. I am talking 50km/h! Then up to about 60km/h, I was really impressed.
Yes I know there is plenty of people out there that can do those speeds, but to do it alongside traffic and keep out of harms way (sort of) I was impressed! Told him at the light what I clocked him at, we had a chat afterward at the 7-11 nearby over a cigarette! Then we went on our way, however I am thinking he got home before I did!
[quote="pb] On bicycle, scooter the moment you see car approaching you should slow down to judge what will be driver decision - you have a longer braking distance than car and stability issues.
[/quote]
My experience is that scooters have shorter braking distance than a car.
I think this one is bether, sound like he block the rear wheel instead of using the braking power from the front brake.
Quite nasty video you posted witch show what idiots most bicycle riders are in my opinion.
Was asking a guy here in Vietnam why he was riding a bicycle and not riding a motorbike. The answer was because he don’t have to stop for the red light.
I think the problem with cyclists here is multi-faceted. Of course I’m generalizing but I see a lot of behavior which supports this theory.
They want to be treated as a vehicle but they want to be exempt from the laws that apply to them. For example they want to be given space on the road but they expect to be able to ride along three abreast and chit chat while everyone else just deals with the obstruction by quietly going around it. They expect to be given way to in situations a scooter should, but not be required to stop at red lights or crossings. I think they expect to be able to decide in their mind whether they’re a vehicle or a pedestrian at any given moment and that everyone else will just go along with that, even though their physical form changed not one iota. They expect to be treated like a licensed and plated roaduser but not have to take any legal responsibility for the damage or injuries they cause when they either crash into something else, or cause others to collide while trying to avoid them.
I think there’s also a sense of self-importance which stems from the hard work it is to ride in this heat, plus their own vulnerability. “Hey, I’m a very soft vehicle so you should give me extra space”. “Hey, it’s a lot of work to get back up to cruising speed after stopping, so I’m not going to”. They then get the idea that being vulnerable or pedal-powered gives them extra rights, like the right to blow off lights or yield signs / lines without looking. Kinda like the black Benz effect but without all the heavy bodywork and dark glass.
Don’t get me wrong here. I have a bike and I used to ride it quite a bit, but I consider it to be some kind of cloak of invisibility and I ride accordingly… very carefully and always assuming no-one has seen me, and that no-one can know what my intentions are.
Toyota Corolla (60-0mph in 127ft) outbrakes Kymco Veenox 250 (60-0mph in 132ft)
Interestingly according to the data it also matched Kawasaki Ninjas 650R ('07) and Versys 650 ('07) stopping distance.
Sports bikes were of course better averaging 110ft.
I doubt your average scooter in Taiwan can beat that especially considering their typical state of disrepair .
Moreover all this is a straight line braking done by experienced test driver.
Average scooter rider doing emergency stop while turning will not be able to match that while in the car it is easier.
I am a little tired of the cyclists that ride on the footpath and think that can just come head on towards you ringing their stupid little bell as if “Get Out Of My Way.” And it is all types, grannies, old men, middle aged men, cute girls and even had a foreigner coming towards me swerve into my path and he was coming towards me, as he was quickly trying to overtake some slow walkers… Do these cyclist think they follow the heirachy system that bicycles are bigger than pedestrians so pedestrians should get out their way. Or is that they just don’t give a shit, like their scooter riding cousins… And I really hate the “sorry” with the little salute they give when you don’t move out of their way and they need to stop. Why do they apologise, Do they realise they are doing something they are not supposed to?
Yes bike riders can be such assholes. I nearly got into it last summer when walking my cat in the garden area of my apt complex. there are two concrete walkways bout 4 feet across on either side of the lawn area. They are meant to be walked on. People walk their pets there or let pets run on the grass next to the paths. Some kids ride kiddie bikes on these paths. My cat was walking ahead of me one day (he stays off the grass and prefers to stay on the concrete pathways) and then this 40 something year old guy shouts out “coming thru” . He is riding his bike on the path to get to his apt. I said “hang on, let me get my cat and went and got him and picked him up so he doesnt get run over”. I was about to get into it with him when he realized that maybe an adult should NOT be riding a bike on that pathway? That maybe a child could but that area really is not for riding an adult bike? That maybe he should be walking his bike instead of riding it? He said sorry and got off his bike at his apt which was right there.
He wasnt chinese, he was white. I didnt ask if he was Canadian though
And in the city when they have bike days the groups of cyclists always seem to get into fights with car drivers. And even when not in groups they go up the wrong side of the road, go past stop signs without stopping. All and any number of rule breaking. Bike riders dont even stop at stop signs at crosswalks whereas even a pedestrian would.
They do often take great liberties and some die because of it.
(this may belong elsewhere, Moddos please feel free to relocate it to a deserving home)
So I was on the bus this morning, 0630, and as we were coming up Song Ren, right across from Kim’s Vietnamese restaurant, about halfway between Hsin Yi Jr High and McD’s, I see a couple of traffic cops doing the measuring tape/chalk on the road thing.
As we got closer, I could see, over in the curb lane, a couple of newspapers, the cover from a scooter taillight, one black flipflop, and a considerable pool of really disturbingly bright red blood.
Everything else had already been carried off.
I don’t really care to speculate as to the possible cause, could have been some drunk, could have been some orange haired snaggletoothed delinquent, could have been one of those newspaper delivery assholes who peel around like a demented monkey with the top of its head sawed off, it doesn’t really matter.
Just, you know, kids, it’s going to be a long hot day, so, hey…
I crashed a couple of months back. I was riding along and looked to my side for a second…then when I looked back in front of me I had a blue truck in my lane coming at me. I panicked and braked too hard (was riding a friend’s scooter with modified brakes) and I went down and slid all the way to the front of his truck. So I didn’t actually touch his truck. The first thing he does after watching me crash is back up his truck and move it off to the side a bit. Then he gets out and looks at me, but doesn’t speak to me. I tell him he’s in the wrong lane. He replies that he wanted to turn left further up the road. I respond that he should still be in his lane and turn at the intersection.
Anyway…long story short. He thinks he shouldn’t pay much because I went down by myself. He didn’t actually crash into me. Court thought differently and ordered him to pay me 3 times more than what he initially offered. Which is one time more than what I asked for.
Twice we were supposed to meet at town hall to discuss payment. I didn’t go. I know that the old volunteers would side with him. I skipped the two “meetings” and just waited for the court date.
First thing I did after crashing was pull out my camera. This helped A LOT when talking with police/judge afterwards: youtube.com/watch?v=ZomV41i1WcM
[quote=“Stian”][quote=“Mordeth”]I crashed a couple of months back.
[/quote]
I hope you where wearing something else than shorts, t-shirt and plastic flip flops.[/quote]
I was lucky. It was still cold out then and I had a leather jacket on. I was still pretty fucked up though. Couldn’t walk without extreme pain for a week. Couldn’t walk normally for about 2 months. And the fucking piece of shit doctor that gave me a legal medical note…listing my injuries…just wrote “abrasions”. Fucking cock sucking piece of shit. I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t hold my baby for over a week. Couldn’t carry him up or down stairs for a full month. Abrasions…I should give that dr some abrasions.
I’m glad you’re OK man. Think yourself lucky you at least didn’t have to fight for damages to your Kwaker.
But sorry to be the one to break it to you – your dog thinks you’re an arse. “You want me to WHAT, exactly? Lick it? Shag it? Eat it? Oh all right. But just this ONCE! And that is IT!”
[quote=“Mordeth”][quote=“Stian”][quote=“Mordeth”]I crashed a couple of months back.
[/quote]
I hope you where wearing something else than shorts, t-shirt and plastic flip flops.[/quote]
I was lucky. It was still cold out then and I had a leather jacket on.[/quote]
Leaned ower too much last year and the scoother lost grip when the plastic became my main contact to the ground.
I now refuse to go down to the 7-11 on a bike without wearing something that protects. For that reason I bought jackets and pants instead of a one pice suit.
Hope you will heal 100%
[quote=“sandman”]
But sorry to be the one to break it to you – your dog thinks you’re an arse. “You want me to WHAT, exactly? Lick it? Shag it? Eat it? Oh all right. But just this ONCE! And that is IT!”[/quote]
[quote=“Mordeth”][quote=“sandman”]
But sorry to be the one to break it to you – your dog thinks you’re an arse. “You want me to WHAT, exactly? Lick it? Shag it? Eat it? Oh all right. But just this ONCE! And that is IT!”[/quote]
I don’t get it.[/quote]
Most of the vid you linked to shows (presumably) you talking in a baby voice and waving your big pink sausage at your long-suffering doggie.
[quote=“sandman”][quote=“Mordeth”][quote=“sandman”]
But sorry to be the one to break it to you – your dog thinks you’re an arse. “You want me to WHAT, exactly? Lick it? Shag it? Eat it? Oh all right. But just this ONCE! And that is IT!”[/quote]
I don’t get it.[/quote]
Most of the vid you linked to shows (presumably) you talking in a baby voice and waving your big pink sausage at your long-suffering doggie.[/quote]
Right right…sorry. Forgot about that end clip. lol
When will Taiwanese female drivers stop hitting me with their cars and scooters? I’ve really had enough of it.
Thankfully this time nobody was hurt, just my poor car. Front drivers side corner is scuffed up. Maybe $1~2k to fix.
The woman turned too sharply and, on a good note, scraped up the entire side of her car. Suffer those costs, wench!
Really, though, why am I involved in so many accidents here? None of them have been my fault to date.
Here is a question.
A one lane road. Two cars waiting in traffic with scooterA in-between. To ride past you would have to ride to the right (side) of the cars which involves riding past in and out of the red no parking line into the man hole/grids/drain cover part of the road.
ScooterA in-between the waiting cars decided to move around the car in front. He slowly approached the right side. A scooterB on the right hand side approached. Seeing scooterA move closer to the right side (scooterA’s front wheel in view but not in the path of scooterB which could have ridden on with no contact), scooterB braked on a grid/drain cover, stumbled and skidded about 1-2 meters. ScooterB made no contact with the car to his left or ScooterA apart from a tiny brush on scooterA’s foot. ScooterB’s rider got up and pulled his bike up. (ScooterB may have had a scooter behind him make contact with him, but it wouldn’t have been anything serious). ScooterA drove off.
My question is, (regarding Taiwan traffic laws) is scooterA to blame in anyway here?
What are the laws for this in Taiwan?
I don’t get it.