Today in Kaohsiung, while riding my moped in intense heat, I saw an elderly man fall off his bicycle on a busy main road. Despite the danger, no one stopped to help; they simply drove around him.
I managed to get across the road safely and helped the man, who appeared to be in his 80s or 90s, to his feet. I retrieved his sandals and asked if he needed an ambulance, but he said no. Although he seemed disoriented (maybe heat stroke? maybe just old, maybe other sickness), he insisted on getting back on his bike and continued down the busy road, even running a red light.
Concerned he might fall again, I followed him but stuck at red lights. He was swerving erratically and almost fell on the light rail tracks as a train approached. He eventually got past the tracks but fell again. I’m at a red light, but scooters and cars going around him again fail to stop and help. I reached him, helped him up, and flagged down another scooter driver to call for help. When the elderly man again refused an ambulance, the other driver called the police. While we were waiting, the old man tried to get on his bike again, fell, and almost got hit by a truck.
Two weeks ago an elderly woman on a scooter fell when hitting a curb and no one helped her up but me. (She definitely should not have a scooter license or scooter, but that’s a different issue).
Why don’t people feel the need to assist others here? Afraid to get sued like in China?
In both these situations, it took a foreigner with a dog strapped in a baby carrier on stomach to help them up, while no one else assisted.
(If there’s another thread for this somewhere, please feel free to combine it there)
In Taiwan, it’s almost certain she does not have a licence and is given some elderly grace status as the thinking here is that such people would be screwed if they did not have a means of transport.
More on point: good for you for being a kind person and a good model. Some Taiwanese indeed will very much be willing to help others, even here in relatively cold and distant Taipei. I wonder if you just happened to be surrounded those times by some self-centered folks.
I was in China during the whole Yueyue incident (2 yr old hit by van, the driver notices but leaves scene, other cars see and don’t stop), which caused reform around adopting good samaritan laws.
I know Taiwan also has them, but wasn’t a thought. My thought was if someone’s grandfather (or of it was mine) got hit by a car because they couldn’t ride or kept falling off a bike, they surely would have wished someone could have stopped that from happening.
Luckily in the 5 years of living in Taiwan I’ve only seen incidents of unilateral accidents twice, but both instances just threw me off that people would stare and drive off but not help.
This is common here (I am in the same city, but it’s all of Taiwan I see this, less in places like Penghu). A big crash, scooters and cars try get by or drive around even if it happens right in from of them. In my car a few times that I stop people get angry as they can not pass.
I can say basic reason, being selfish , care about family, yourself ect, and avoid trouble and save time and so on.
China has much fewer scooters which makes it easier to drive, but people there (and here) fear a law suit as mentioned, Coming from Japan, it was quite a difference but you adjust to life here I guess. If I saw this I would call the police to help the man I learn over time is best now.
So if try be nice, well bad things happen (Stop for car, get hit hard by others) then as you see in the video others drive away ASAP, life in Taiwan, being selfish or maybe self protection
Not only here, up in Taipei selfish people blocking Ambulance, worse than helping
The original post concerns traffic accidents. I guess that as soon as vehicles are involved, the calculation of whether or not to help becomes complicated.
In simpler pedestrian-only situations, I guess it might be easier and more common for people to offer help. For example, one time a Taipei MRT station, I saw an old guy collapse on the platform, probably from heat stroke. For a few moments it looked like nobody was going to help (and I started to walk towards him), but then two nearby people (a middle-aged woman, and a young guy) stepped in and started to carry him to a nearby bench.
The other one was moving on a diagonal directly for the first scooter… it should never have been on that course in the first place and they would have had a clear view of the scooter they were about to hit.
Given the angle they were travelling on, if they didn’t hit the first scooter they were going to go off the road and hit the bushes / hedge.
This is it. The rules change when its traffic related. Otherwise Taiwanese usually do help others. But behind a wheel they become strange and low life forms.
