I’ve just been handed a traffic fine. I was driving down a road in Hsinchu and as I approached the corner, I tried to avoid a scooter reversing right into me. Little did I know that the guy was trying to avoid the cops around the bend. Because I had to sverve out of the way, I probably looked like I wasn’t capable of driving. I have driven past traffic cops many times, and even though they could easily see that I was a foreigner, they never stopped me. But in this case I made waves and was picked as today’s contribution to the traffic cops club fund. I tried my best to show them how foreign I was, but they weren’t about to let me get away with such a heinous crime. All I heard was something muttered to me about NT6000.
I’m not even sure what to next with this pink slip I’ve been handed. Advice please!
That picture looks like a scout badge. Maybe he wasn’t saying 6000 but if you collect more you’ll eventually become a sixer.
I received my first parking ticket a few weeks back. I parked in an area near the railway station which was cordoned off for some reason(usually it’s OK to park there). and came back to find a ticket taped to the scooter I ride.
[quote=“Matchstick_man”]That picture looks like a scout badge. Maybe he wasn’t saying 6000 but if you collect more you’ll eventually become a sixer.
I received my first parking ticket a few weeks back. I parked in an area near the railway station which was cordoned off for some reason(usually it’s OK to park there). and came back to find a ticket taped to the scooter I ride.[/quote]
$6000 is the general no licence fine, so if they muttered that number they were probably hammering you for this.
But don’t worry, ATM’s can be found at 7-11’s and the nice thing about the traffic fine place is that they have made an ATM available for people who have forgotten to bring the required amount with them.
Hey, if you were caught driving without a license, consider yourself lucky. NT$6,000 is relatively cheap for such a serious violation. They should raise it to NT60,000.
[quote=“whiskas2”]Hey, if you were caught driving without a license, consider yourself lucky. NT$6,000 is relatively cheap for such a serious violation. They should raise it to NT60,000.[/quote]That is what it is in the UK, with the posibility of being banned from from getting a licence in the future, and then it will have points, increasing the chances of getting banned yet again. Guess where is safer ?
There is something you have to understand. although I don’t ave a Taiwanese driver’s licence, I have gone through the process of earning one back home with our stringent K53 system in SA. I was not fined for the inability to ride a scooter, I was fined for not carrying the appropriate documentation. There are people out there with the right documents who are danger on wheels. This is what I’ve learned: There is a difference between ability and legality.
I don’t take driving offences lightly though. I’ve been a victim of at least four big accidents and a multitude of smaller ones. I’ve come out alive so many times, I’m not sure if that makes me unlucky or lucky.
In any case, I discovered the full truth today. Not only was I fined for driving without a licence, but also for turning right on red. Remember though, I was trying to prevent an accident. Somebody was reversing straight at me to avoid the cops.
Always, but always carry your vehicle’s registration and insurance papers with you. The cells at the penitentiary for foreigners in Yung Lin is full of sad characters who were slammed for possession of stolen property. Awaiting deportation they are! Sad but true.
Stanley (I think therefore I am … not in possession of stolen property).
wait and see what they hit you with… then take a deep breath and decide if you want to go through tha hassle of objecting to the fines… they will play it one of two ways…
1.) they’ll say: “sure object all you like, just pay the fines up front, then go through the motions to get your day in court and if the court rules in your favour you have to arrange to apply for a refund…” (to get an accurate sense of what this really means you need to insert the phrases “cold day in hell” and “bloody foreigner” in various places)
2.) they’ll say: “sure we understand that you were trying to avoid some eedjit reversing into oncoming traffic to get away from the police, we’ll suspend the fines, put them aside for now…” they’ll just put an endless expiration due date on the fines and when you want to transfer ownership or get the vehicle relicenced, you’ll have to pay all outstanding fines… (again for a true indication of their sentiments on the issue you’ll need to insert key phrases like “big nose bastard” and “you have no rights” etc.)
whichever way you decide to play it, if you’re going to pay make sure you pay it before the due date… if you wait even 1 day longer they’ll double the fine and that is the little police/govt. beurocrat sod’s biggest job perk and they won’t let it slide for anything…
When you drive without a license you are always at risk, and are always in the wrong if the cops pull you over. No matter what. I rode for months when I first got here without a license. Then one day I was caught doing an illegal right hand turn. Cop pulled me over, I tried to explain and act like a dumb foreigner. Making excuses that I had forgotten my license at home, and that I didn’t know right turns on reds were illegal in Taiwan. He didn’t budge, he said if I had a dispute I can take it up in court, and handed a slip for $9000NT. I learned my lesson the hard way. Got my license the next week, and have waited for the green to turn right ever since.
They also confiscated my “blue card” that I got when I bought my bike.
I am as guilty as sin in this whole matter and I accept the fine, but there are real menaces on the road out there that get left because they wear black and chew bin lan.
There sure are. So they confiscated the blue card. I guess you will have to pay the fine to get it back. My buddy didn’t have his blue card with him so they just took his license plate and keys away, and made him push his scooter home. He had to pay the $6000 fine, and take the receipt to the police station to get his plate and keys back.
[quote=“Bassman”][quote=“Matchstick_man”]That picture looks like a scout badge. Maybe he wasn’t saying 6000 but if you collect more you’ll eventually become a sixer.
I received my first parking ticket a few weeks back. I parked in an area near the railway station which was cordoned off for some reason(usually it’s OK to park there). and came back to find a ticket taped to the scooter I ride.[/quote]
I insisted that he give you a ticket. [/quote] He became over-zealous then due to your insistence. There were a bunch of scooters with tickets taped to them that evening. There may be a future as a professional public speaker for ya.
You showed your own government the respect of complying with their requirement for you to obtain a drivers licence prior to enjoying the priviledge of driving on the roads there. Yet, upon choosing to come to Taiwan you have not been willing to comply with the same request in this country. When you get fined for this non-compliance you try to justify your actions!
Getting a drivers licence here is cheap and easy. There is a wealth of information with step by step reports on how to do this on this very forum. I am astounded that there are people out there who still feel that it is ok to ride around town unlicenced, unregistered, and/or uninsured, and then complain when they get busted for this.
I have quoted the above as I see some inconsistencies here.
You seem to be suggesting that you are a capable driver with a good driving ability and a respect for the importance of complying with driving laws as you don’t take driving offences lightly.
Yet, you chose to ride a motorbike without a licence to do so. Additionally, you got picked up for running a red light! None of this seems to suggest capability nor respect!
What relevance does the guy reversing have to all of this. A red light means stop in every country of the world! Yes I know that some countries allow right turns on red - but Taiwan is not one of these countries.
Obviously people should have a valid license when they drive, and perhaps this thread will serve as a reminder to anyone who doesn’t have a license that he/she should get one ASAP.
I think enough’s been said on the “personal morality” issue now though.
I think it’s the “what the hell” attitude of local drivers which influences foreigners here.
Many local drivers don’t have a licence and no-one really cares. In another country, people would likely report you for not having a licence but in Taiwan, no one gives a flying football.
One incident of not caring attitude happened when I had to go to a police station for something the other week. I got a lift with a police officer on his scooter. I explained that I had no helmet and I needed to go back home to get it to which he replied “Mei Guanxi.” The ride exceeded 5 minutes.
The law is randomly enforced and this sends out the wrong impression to everybody. I wouldn’t dream of driving in Germany, South Africa, France, The US, Italy - wherever - without a valid licence. In Taiwan, I probably wouldn’t give it a second thought except for the fact that my own morals come into play.
I don’t condone driving without a licence in any way, but I can understand why many people do. If Taiwan can’t respect it’s own rules then how can it expect others to?
