could be all these complaints about traffic are asking the powers that be to see what they can’t and or don’t want to see?
In my anecdote-based and utterly nonscientific observations, the driving looked as awful as ever today.
No cops sighted, either.
Location: Out and about in Taipei City.
Guy
Maybe when they mentioned the 14 intersections with stricter enforcement in Taipei that was meant for all of Taiwan…not just Taipei city 
I’m out in the sticks of New Taipei City and have noticed a significant change. People are stopping and sometimes even smiling as though they know that I know we all know what’s up. They’ve been watching the news. As a side note, I don’t run across the street, I make eye contact with them and at time even point my finger at them so know they have to stop. Perhaps there’s also a fear of not wanting to be the one on the news for having run over a foreigner.
Things are not perfect. I’m still seeing idiots parking their cars on the zebra crossings like flies on shit, scooters and bikes on the side walks obstructing pedestrians even though there’s plenty of space for them elsewhere. I’ve yet to figure out the logic behind it. I don’t think they’re trying to intentionally piss people off. There’s something else there.
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If you read the comments on youtube videos of all the accidents that happen daily, you’ll notice that people are very angry. But, Taiwanese/Chinese society is not known for wanting to stand out. Occasionally yes, but no one wants to be the first one out the gate.
If people are all angry wouldn’t that translate to pressure on government officials to do something? Has to be more than just “because Chinese don’t want to stand out”.
In some ways it’s not that much different from what I’ve seen the classrooms. Hardly anyone wants to raise a hand or say something. Even when they know the answer or have something to say. The pressure to not stand out is greater for most.
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Yes, various studies have shown tire wear contributes up to 2000x more pollutants than gasoline or diesel engines. Same as cheap paint and VOC’s.
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This pedestrian must have been obstructing his view.
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I’m not going to comment the driving, no need.
But, what a great placement for a zebra crossing. Why on earth Taiwan places zebra crossing near bends? Kind of rhetorical.
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Police in Taiwan will levy higher fines on drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians as the country seeks to improve its road safety record.
same old
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Still haven’t heard anything about engineering/design or education changes.
Just haphazardly trying to do one of the 3 E’s, enforcement.
Currently there’s a Korean live streamer streaming herself on her journey to walk around Taiwan. Apparently she used to study in Taiwan a few years ago before she left back to Korea. Her audience seems to be more international so some Taiwanese viewers have been a bit embarrassed at the poor infrastructure, tons of illegal parking that forces pedestrians into roads or in the latest apparent news, nearly impossible to cross the street on a crosswalk as no cars will slow down and no crosswalk button to force the lights to change.
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How do you propose they do education? Do you think they should just force all license holder to retake classes? Who will pay for it? The added revenue from red light cameras?
Engineering changes take time to do. If they are to decide to implement changes NOW it will be at least 10 years before you will see any of that. It also costs money.
Enforcement is at least something they can start NOW because it would have an immediate effect, and it also generates revenue. It also doesn’t affect pedestrians.
That’s basically what I’m seeing so far. 
Guy
They can easily fund/subsidize a lot of the education by simple consistently enforcing the law. Also they should improve education probably by literally doing anything besides what they are currently doing…Taiwan loves to compare itself to Japan, so they could easily look at how Japan was able to significantly improve driver education and overall safety to an extremely safe level. It’s not some mystery or complicated thing.
Engineering takes time…so they should have started decades ago! Even now they continue to do it wrong. Even simple basic designs they still fail to implement and still continue to put scooter parking on sidewalks in newly developed areas with plenty of space.
Even when they try to do curb extensions…they just do that with paint which has time and again been shown to mean bupkis as news have already reported drivers driving over them and all the tires marks that can be seen on them.
The traffic safety problem is breaking records. A 10 year high in number of traffic deaths and highest recorded number of injuries and still no engineering changes are being implemented. If not now then when will they start?
Of course also needs to be heavy investment in public transportation. I’ll probably be on my deathbed by the time Taichung gets its 2nd or 3rd MRT line…
ONLY having some partial and very inconsistent enforcement is useless. It doesn’t fix anything, it works as small band-aid at best. The 3 E’s require a 3 pronged approach.
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Remove helmets and make all car windows transparent which can make everyone see the faces of drivers.
That will solve traffic issues in a day. It’s Taiwan, shaming is what makes people change behavior
It’s same reason the coworker who is super nice to you in office is suddenly an asshole behind the wheel because he has a helmet on.
Ofcourse it’s a joke not a viable solution.
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Helmet laws are there so people don’t explode their head if they so much as bump into anything else.
They can change the law to outlaw windows tint that is excessively dark, just like how in the states the cops WILL pull you over if your window tint is too dark.
Vertical signalling. For example, roundabouts. They have no clue how to drive through them. Well, big ass yield signs and signs with the statement (REMEMBER, YOU DO NOT HAVE PRIORITY) before every roundabout.
Publicity campaigns. There are many different media they can use, even influencers can help.
In the mid and long term it will pay by itself with the reduced cost of NHI.
Write a good road/street code, and DO IT NOW. No need for an Asian/Taiwanese way. Just copy the best of each other country that is far better than you, it is not that hard.
New roads/streets need to be made. Old roads/streets need to be maintained or rebuilt. Well, just do it up to code. It is not that hard.
Again, it will pay by itself. Also, if done it properly (taking back space for pedestrians and bicycles) it will cost less to maintain because humans and bicycles do not destroy roads/streets as much as 2 tons SUVs.
Enforment is almost a patch to a faulty system. If they keep building stroads that allow cars to go as fast as they can in urban areas, someone will go as fast as they can, and everyone will go faster that otherwise would be safe. Who drives at 50 km/h (too fast already anyway) in a 3-4 lane stroad? Exactly, nobody.
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Oh, and police can also educate drivers. There can be police campaigns without fines, just stopping drivers to educate them in what they have done wrong, how to do it well, and the consequences of not doing it properly next time.
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I’ve seen examples of roundabouts, nobody here knows how to navigate them so they just plow through them at their normal speeds. The result is it’s impossible for pedestrians to cross one without risking life and limb. They also cost money/time to build. You would have to eminent domain a lot of properties if you do it in normally busy intersections you see here. There isn’t space to do it.
I think part of enforcement should be to force drivers caught to take reeducation courses at their expense, and their license is suspended until they can prove they have taken the course and applied it properly via a test at the end.
One reason why in the US camera ticket is dismissed automatically is because part of having to have an officer issue a ticket in person is that the officer can provide education.