Been hit by a you bike, a food panda scooter and other dumbass people while riding on a straight line and minding my business.
Is there a trick to this or do we just expect to get hit?
In the city:
- Mirror
- Bright, flashing front and back lights. Daytime and night.
- Donât wear headphones.
- Shoulder check constantly.
- Anticipate morons.
- Bright dorky coloured clothing. Fashion colours aint your friend on your bike.
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Are you getting hit because they didnât notice you? Or because they expected you to yield to them?
Iâve only ridden YouBikes in Taiwan, but with what little experience I have on the roads here, Iâve noticed they follow their own made-up right-of-way rules that are different from whatâs in the driving manual.
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.02$ Agree with flatlandr above. I use a helmet mirror, Garmin rvr 315, and get out of the way in congestion. But reality is most locals donât use situation awareness so defensive riding is key. If a car is approaching too close sometimes Iâll weave pretending thereâs something in the road - That usually gets them to go wide. Also use hand signals. Forget about âright of wayâ. That will get you smacked.
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Assume they are all actively trying to hit you, and avoid them.
Obvious and frequent hand signals. They do tend to respect an authoritative and imperious hand saying that you will take that spot, thank you.
Stay off the cycle paths. Thatâs the worst place to ride.
Never wear earphones. Always look and listen all around you.
Lights. Flashing lights.
Worked for me.
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Oh and I should mention that when cars is making a turn while you are waiting at the curb, the car will try to come as close to you as possible, because somehow youâre a magnet for the car.
If they ever start handing out assault rifles for national defense purpose, I anticipate a lot of vehicle related mass shootings.
Whyâs that? Care to elaborate? Why would a reckless driver hit you there?
I only ride on bike paths and in smaller lanes and alleys, avoid major roads like the plague.
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This. Your objective is to look like a moving binglang store.
And loud music. Ideally something by one of those German artists like Rammstein or Scooter (âHow much is the fish?â) Create as much noise as you can to draw attention to yourself.
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If youâre going to play Rammstein, try playing that Moscow or we are living in America song.
Play Bad Habit by The Offspring and youâll be let alone.
I open the frame bag,
reach inside, Iâm gonna wreck
this fuckerâs ride.
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People riding, running, walking, and, yes, actually driving on those paths seem to be even less aware than general road users and more likely to suddenly stop, change direction, open an umbrella, etc., right into you.
Itâs probably an okay place to ride if youâre going slowly but thatâs not my style. Usually trying to get some speed up. Commuting or training.
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Maybe this is the problem. Not saying itâs entirely your fault, but you do need to actively pay attention to your surroundings. You need to be aware of everything around you. And as @urodacus said, never use earphones. Do you listen to music while riding?
Ditto these. Big emphasis on shoulder check and not wearing headphones.
Iâve recently picked up a Knog rear light after seeing all my Aussie friends rock them. Not only are they pretty cool with the light options, but pretty high in lumines. They donât quite break the bank like the Garmin lights.
One tip that might be helpful/useful is also about knowing a bit of what road to take during what time of day AND the shortcuts to get around. One road that I always avoid is ZhongXiao East Road and Civic Blvd. This tip comes with time and taking the same routes to and from rides to fully understand the traffic conditions/patterns.
Final tip, just give way. Youâll lose to every if not most vehicles on the road if you want to fight for position. Get ahead or get home safe? I choose the latter.
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In advanced countries, claiming your lane is a powerful safety tool. In Taiwan is more like an invitation to scooter morons to overtake you on the right. So you want to ride far enough from sudden dangers like opening doors but not too much to allow idiots to make dangerous moves on your right.
Never ever stop in the middle of a lane. Actually, never ever stop while on a lane. Not for crosswalks, not for red lights. Move as close to the right (to the sidewalk, if any) as possible. Motorists here don´t know what crosswalks are for and many of them believe traffic lights are just for reference. You don´t want to be mowed down from behind.
Never ever go through an intersection without checking both sides, reduce your speed as required to do so. Donât expect anybody to obey a STOP sign because nobody here understands the ĺ character. Donât be like Fernando Alonso at green lights, take your time and always check both sides. Also check behind you for turning vehicles (this is a must too while walking).
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I read this a few times and it just sounds like the best solution to your solutions is to not ride. 
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Defensive riding is the key and that also means controlling your speed and adapting it to traffic density. In general, I try not to ride much faster than the average cyclist even if I could easily keep up with most scooters in dense traffic. Better safe than sorry.
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Truer words have never been spoken.
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You just need overzealous cop who hangs around stop signs and ticketing anyone who fails to stop. But I donât know why so few gets ticketed.
Sometimes they go on ticketing sprints and actually do this, but itâs still not enough to make people stop.
What actually DOES work, however, is getting into a serious accident due to not stopping at a stop sign. This happened to my friend and now he stops at every single one.
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Fucking dogs on fucking leads too.