Here are the latest government regulation on traffic fines; how do they square with reality? Has anyone had the honour of receiving one of them?
And isn’t that 3,000 fine for being in the wrong freeway poll lane (cash versus ticket) a crock of shit?
TRAFFIC’S FINE sorry I mean TRAFFIC FINES
Drunk driving: license suspended for 12 months, NT$15,000-NT$60,000 fine, car impounded. (Refusal to be tested: NT$60,000 fine, license revoked, car impounded.)
Not wearing a seat belt (driver and front-seat passenger): NT$1,500 (NT$3000 on freeway).
Using a hand-held mobile phone: car (3,000), motorcycle (1,500).
Littleiron,
Did the cop write out a fine, and you had 10 days to pay it or what?
Where did you pay the fine? I guess you went and got a license pretty soon after.
I had my first scooter accident last week; the driver of a car decided to turn without indicating and bothering to look in the rear view mirror. The car took me out and I ended sprawled across the road with minor injuries. The car took off at high speed, but I was glad as I still don’t have a license.
I got a $2,000 fine for making an illegal left turn frum Fuxing onto Badeh while taking my wife to the hospital when our first son was born. Seems like that would have been a good excuse, but no… It’s one of those stretches where you can go a good mile or more without being able to make a legal left turn, so I guess you’re supposed to turn right and pull a U-turn, or something.
The cop made me sign something, and then told me to get a new license. I wasn’t sure if I got a ticket (as he didn’t say so really, and didn’t give me anything), until I went to get a local license at the ‘DMV’, where they said I owed them $6000.
Long story, typical red tape, inefficient gov’t, me knowing more about the laws than the people who are supposed to be in charge of them, gov’t ‘employees’ who dont’ who only care about avoiding hassle, yadda, yadda… Won’t bore you with the details.
I remember the first time I got into a small fender bender in Taipei. I was shocked, shocked, shocked that the guy actually stopped to see if I was ok. I’m not in Tainan anymore… :shock:
(I must have seen 10-20 minor accidents during my 1+ year in Tainan; not once did the person at fault stop)
I got fined the day the helmet law was enforced. Once on the way to buy my helmet, and once on the way back to work with the helmet in the box. “Why didn’t you wear it?” Yeah I know…
I had to join a queue to be find and it was all laughs and smiles all round. Everyone queuing up for their trophy: “Look ! I got fined too !”
My single-trip record is NT$12,000, all for speeding. No, I’m not proud, because one of the tickets was when the wife was driving, so I can’t claim it as a clean sweep.
I hear that the cops have been getting more strict recently when it comes to dishing out fines - maybe things have changed - but I remember getting stopped just after they started enforcing the helmet law - no helmet and at that time no license either. The cop who pulled me over was a twat who wanted to impress his mate by speaking to me in English - but he ended up just fining me for the helmet and forgot about the license. Or there was the other time when I accidently rode up onto the highway (also no license at this point). Must have been riding for 15 minutes before a cop car pulls in front of me and pulls me over. One of the guys explains that bikes aren’t allowed on the highway and asks me to follow their car. I thought they were taking me to the local police station, but no, I was given an escort to the next exit and told to be careful, no fine!!! That was when I was young and stupid though. Don’t know if the cops still let people away with that sort of thing.
Drunk driving: license suspended for 12 months, NT$15,000-NT$60,000 fine,
That’s rediculous. If you drink and drive you’re a bloody idiot. I had a mate that blew .06 who copped worse than that. If they want to stamp out drink driving, well they ought to do it whole heartingly.
Refusal to be tested: NT$60,000 fine, license revoked, car impounded.
Fair enough. Some countries have the death penalty for blowing over.
Not wearing a seat belt (driver and front-seat passenger): NT$1,500 (NT$3000 on freeway).
Well seatbelts should be mandatory anyway. There are too many cars in Taiwan without backseat belts too.
today my car was taken away because I parked in the yellow line, the fine was NT$ 2100 but got $200 discount as I follow the truck by taxi and pay the fine right away, what a damn experience! :x
OUCH! But your taxi dash was actually fairly commonplace. Not like the short, portly and very well-dressed gentleman I saw right in the middle of Dinghao one afternoon, who arrived back at his gleaming Benz just as it was being hoisted up by a truck.
After his pleading, cajoling and threats were disregarded by the towers, this guy first lay down in the street in front of the truck, at which point the towers just got into their truck and sat there (including the picture-taking cop guy that hangs around with them) until he eventually got up.
As I said, he was very well-dressed and dapper, even with the back of his suit soaking wet and muddy (did I mention it was raining?). He then started BAWLING and crying, on his knees, crawling up to the truck door and prostrating himself in front of the guys. There must have been at least 100 people gethered round watching and laughing at him as the truck drove off with his car, leaving him in the gutter in tears.
I very nearly felt sorry for him – for about a nanosecond. What a prick!
actually I follow the truck for a couple of blocks, hoping he can give me a lift and save the taxi, but the guy just refused, so I almost did a show too
next time, I suggest you pay for a parking instead of facing such a shame experience… at the end you end up saving more money…
There was a story reported in the UK press and on TV of a woman who parked her (Mercedes, what else ?) outside a Marks and Sparks in London. She arrived back just as plod was about to hoist the car onto a lorry. So she jumps in the car, and they apparently can’t lift it with someone in it. Hours, and a Chief Superintendent, later she relents and gets out of the car, which is then towed off. What a palaver. What a silly cow. If I’d’ve been plod I’d have nicked her and taken her car to a pound in Aberdeen.
BTW I also once rode up onto the highway in Taipei on my bike, and two helpful gents in a nice black and white BMW escorted me off into the middle of nowhere and it took me 2 hours to get home. No fine though. Lots of funny looks from passing cars though. I took a wrong turn and once you’re on the bleeding highway there’s no turning back. I nearly ended up in Kaohsiung or somewhere.
