- taiwanese youths, blue collars, and BMWs like to speed… let them speed and give them distance…they are on a road to perdition
- they always like to run yellow and red lights. dont be the first one to go once your light has JUST turned green
- i know its not instinctive but hit the gas when u realize a vehicle is just about to T-bone you. most collisions occur once you brake or stop.
- try to over-use hazard lights whenever u are about to brake hard. alot of collisons happen in the rear.
- i might get flaked for this but i’d like to overuse the horn…it stands out since most are reluctant to use it. i’d like to tell them they’re in the wrong.
- yes, on average, asian females tend to have slower reaction time…might not be the case if they play video games more often.
- alot of accidents occur in the early morning. that’s when there’s few traffic and people let their guard down.
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You don’t learn how people drive by watching accidents footage. You learn about the latter though.
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Instead of paying attention who is the car, pay attention to traffic in general.
Do not drive so close to car in front of you, keep the gap big then you will not need brake hard??? I hate people who drive too close.
Men on average crash more, back to point one, not who is driving pay attention the road not the people in the car.
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- Give as much “buffer” as possible (3 cars worth) to the car in front of you and you’ll do fine.
- I also like using the horn, since it’s better to be safe. My wife hates it when I do this tho
- If being tailgated by a douche, I also like using the emergency lights here too.
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there is no single.list in taiwan. people need to be taught, from birth, about spacial awareness. then throughout childhood about other people being important too. and geometry! One would think at least geometry would be more readily understood in a country of self proclaimed math wizards.
The issue in Taiwan runs culturally and socially. driving is but only one symptom of a greater disease. Unfortunately the ego and face culture here makes this disease hard to treat. I have seen 2 dead bodies in accidents this month alone. I live in a town of under 500 people… no one cares, even when their family members get dismembered and cremated. Face and ego. 
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- Blue truck drivers are all straight out of the insane asylum. They are about as predictable as your next lottery payout.
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Yeah, but it’s also good to be aware of the psychology of the drivers around. Some prejudices are useful. Actually prejudices exist for a reason 
Well, yeah no. He isn’t talking about the car in front of you, but the cars behind you. What you propose is fine and partly helps in some situations, but when you come to a traffic jam right after a bend in a freeway, it is a very good idea to use the hazards.
And women create a lot of stupid dangerous situations… but I agree that the safe thing to do is to pay attention to the traffic conditions and assume the people around won’t have lightning fast reactions, no matter age or sex.
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One thing to realize about traffic or roads or anything in Taiwan, even people walking on the sidewalk, is that they will assume anything behind them does not exist. So if you are going straight, assume somebody left or right in front of you may inadvertently cut you off.
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This is true.
My wife’s driving instructor told her not to check her rear view mirror or side mirrors while driving because all that matters is what is in front of you.
I told her she should be checking mirrors every few seconds and it should be second nature.
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YMMV, but I don’t drive like that and it seems to work 
It seems to me the added awareness of your sides and rear will come at the cost of reduced awareness of your front (what you are directly heading towards).
Next time you buy a car you could save money and get one without mirrors.
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I didn’t say I never use the mirrors lol. That would be unsafe
EDIT: made edit above for clarity!
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Judging from the UK data, accidents number follow traffic density. Lots of accidents at morning rush hour and lots at late afternoon rush hour. Pretty sure Taiwan will follow the same rule.
You’re quite right. People become much more frustrated and irrational in dense traffic.
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Of course it’s a balance, but in general I think regularly checking mirrors is good. How frequently could be open to discussion, but I reckon I check mine several times a minute. I’ve yet to crash into a vehicle in front of me.
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This conversation comes a bit late for me to delve into my driving technique (just back from home where I drove every day), but I will try to in the future.
As a blue truck driver, I take offense to that!
but in all seriousness I mostly agree. delivery drivers are the worst. the blue truck drivers in the mountains with materials industries are probably the best drivers in Taiwan. Actually quite skillful and never rushed.
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agreed. checking mirrors every 5 to 10 seconds is SOP. if people have a hard time it is often due to eye issues and not being able to focus quickly, which is a real issue in Taiwan (eyesight in general). Many a bad driver has told me the same excuse. if you check mirrors or shoulder check you dont see in front of you. Face palm…if it takes more than half a second to do the checkand register everything, likely driving isnt that persons skillset 
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- The vehicle in front of you WILL break suddenly, turn suddenly, run a red light, etc. Be ready.
- scan for break lights as far in front of you as you can see to help avoid sudden breaking
- get a feel for the types of vehicles/drivers that are commonly unpredictable. Pay special attention and put distance between you as soon as possible (including delivery trucks, large trucks, vehicles with lots of dents in them, window-shopping scooters, anyone who rides a scooter frog-legged, etc)
- Slow down and hover the break when nearing intersections
- Be both very defensive and aggressive. Over-passivity can be dangerous. Sometimes you’ll have to force a merge.
- Learn when to not force a merge. Some people get off on not letting anyone into the flow of traffic. Just wait, and go on with your life. Honk if you must.
- Check your blind spots when changing lanes.
- On the highway, when changing lanes into the center lane, always check to make sure there are no cars in the opposite outer lane also going for the center lane.
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