What I like most about the driving tests here in Tawian is that they prove that you can drive wrecklessly, whereas in, say, California, you need to prove that you don’t know how to drive wrecklessly.
I believe you mean ‘recklessly’. If ‘wrecklessly’ means you don’t get in a wreck, I’m all for it!
A difference of opinion; in most western countries, one is taught, and in a driving/riding test must demonstrate, the ‘lifesaver’ look over the shoulder just before pulling out or changing lanes. This means that you can see the ‘blind spots’ that the mirrors don’t show. In the Taiwanese driving test this is seen as incorrect and dangerous driving, because one is looking backwards instead of where one is going.
I feel I’m adapting to many general aspects of life here in Taiwan fairly well, but in connection with driving I feel alternately angry and very sad.
There is no doubt that the driving tests and driving experiences here in Taiwan are very different from back home. But I do feel that in their own way, Taiwan drivers are very talented drivers.
The driving test definitely has its limitations and should be open to some criticism, but I for one found it a bit of a challenge and quite practical for the experiences that I have had since passing the test and heading out onto the road. The trickiest part for me was negotiating the tight parking and turns required without setting off the buzzers, without the aid of other vehicles or other visible landmarks. Back home we had to parallel park between two parked cars. Here you have to parallel park within a box line on the ground. This is quite a difficult feat considering that there are no objects to gauge your position and direction off. The emphasis of the test seems to be on car control in tight conditions, and this is exactly what you face here on Taipei’s streets. How does the test apply to street driving? Well so far, negotiating tight alleys lined with motorcycles which are below the view of the driver is one example.
As far as the driving style of Taiwan drivers, well all that I can say is that it works! Sure it is quite obscure for many westerners, but the Taiwanese seem to go with the flow. Having cars three wide within two marked lanes actually does work quite well, as does driving extremely close to the vehicles all around you. I wouldnt try it back home, but it works here. I personally would like to see more use of indicators and less use of horns, but I’ll settle for whats on offer.
It is wrong for us to say that the Taiwanese are bad drivers. They are very talented drivers in many ways, and have adapted to the road conditions that they are faced with. Sure, they couldnt use this driving style on our roads back home, but then neither should we use our driving style here. In fact, to do so would be quite dangerous!!
[quote=“brian”]There is no doubt that the driving tests and driving experiences here in Taiwan are very different from back home. But I do feel that in their own way, Taiwan drivers are very talented drivers.
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As far as the driving style of Taiwan drivers, well all that I can say is that it works! Sure it is quite obscure for many westerners, but the Taiwanese seem to go with the flow. Having cars three wide within two marked lanes actually does work quite well, as does driving extremely close to the vehicles all around you. I wouldnt try it back home, but it works here. I personally would like to see more use of indicators and less use of horns, but I’ll settle for whats on offer.
It is wrong for us to say that the Taiwanese are bad drivers. They are very talented drivers in many ways, and have adapted to the road conditions that they are faced with. Sure, they couldnt use this driving style on our roads back home, but then neither should we use our driving style here. In fact, to do so would be quite dangerous!![/quote]
Brian, I sympathise with your view, but we have discussed this on this forum before. I am not talking about lane-splitting or other technical rules; I’m talking about murderous and suicidal negligence.
This means things such as carrying children on a scooter without a helmet and pulling out into a lane of fast-moving traffic without having looked at all, wearing a 300 dollar helmet without the chinstrap fastened.
It means driving an SUV at high speed across a red light without any check to see whether someone’s coming the other way.
It means changing lanes without having checked to see whether there’s anyone in the space you’re moving into.
It means a whole load of stuff that’s too depressing to continue writing about.
Yes, some Taiwanese drivers are a little more adept at avoiding trouble than some drivers from other countries, but there are still far more accidents than there need to be. These accidents affect everybody here; pedestrians, motorcycle and bicycle riders, car drivers (although the damage they inflict on others is out of proportion with injury caused to themselves) and their relatives.
Maybe where you live is better. Traffic in Taidong is nicer. Traffic in Taichung is horrible.
[quote=“brian”]As far as the driving style of Taiwan drivers, well all that I can say is that it works![/quote]Bollocks, I see the aftermath of a road accident most days. One day I saw 3 on the way home from work. And the death rate is 6 times that of other countries, does that mean it ‘works’ ? I have lost count how many times I have been hit by drivers going through red lights or whatever, so don’t tell me it f***ing works ok ? Or do you think that’s good ?
[quote]It is wrong for us to say that the Taiwanese are bad drivers. [/quote]It is completely correct and true to say they are bad drivers.
[quote]They are very talented drivers in many ways, and have adapted to the road conditions that they are faced with.[/quote]You mean the conditions they created ?
Just look at the numbers to see how well it works, look at the numbers of people killed, look at the numbers of cars with dents in. Look at Luzhou, or do you think that can be apolgised for by saying “It works in Taiwan” ?
I’m with the last two posters on this one. Taiwan’s driving does not work. It exhibits a gross disrespect for the safety of others, and kills regularly.
Brian
Joesax, I cant agree more with your post. I too find the practices that you have mentioned to be deplorable. In particular the kids with their heads sticking out of sunroofs, and the family of four or five piled on to a scooter, with Mom and Dad kitted out in their helmets, while the kids remain totally unprotected - I mean what are their parents thinking!! I dont think that anyone would try to defend these as good nor safe driving practices, and I certainly wasnt.
My post related solely to what you refer to as the technicalities of driving as this pertains to the driving test (which was the post that I was responding to). I apologise if this is a rehash of earlier discussions but I didnt see these. I am obviously a newbie in a car on the roads, but I have been here for long enough to have become familiar with the roads and the way that they work. During my time here I have seen the introduction of safety measures such as compulsory helmets, side view mirrors, wearing of seatbelts for front seats, checks on drink driving… There is still a long way to go but Taiwan is slowly making progress. Consistent enforcement of the above is obviously still a problem, but hopefully that will come with time.
The point of my post is that it is very nieve for any of us to suggest that the way we drive back home should be the way that they drive here. There are far more vehicles, motorcycles, and people here than there are where I come from, and the streets are much narrower and more congested. Whilst the Taiwanese could obviously take a leaf out of other countries books as far as road rules, I do believe that the technical driving techniques do work with the road conditions that they face. This doesnt mean that they are ideal, but that they work.
Fluffy Matt - I am not up to date on road statistics, but has the statistic that you quoted factored in the population? I have always marvelled at how few traffic accidents I see considering the sheer number of vehicles on the road. The most noticeable thing when they do happen is that they seem to mostly minor in nature when they do happen (with the exception of those real biggies where someone was speeding or drink driving). Comparably, back home, the higher speeds that we travel meant that any accident back home tended to be a biggie or at least moderately so.
Although the lack of respect for red lights isnt something that one would defend or encourage, I think that most of us learn after our first near miss to be particularly careful crossing the road regardless of who has the right of way. You may want to take this into account in order to avoid having any further near misses. As wrong as it is, its a fact of life here. I dont do it myself and give those that do a nasty look!
I dont think that Lu Zhou had much to do with the traffic driving test so I wont comment on that, thanks all the same!
The only way you should get a driving license is to prove you can drive on the road and show that you do not or should not kill or injure someone when you drive
Driving around a parking lot cannot prove this