One of the ways to get beat up in Taiwan

That comma has an agenda.

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Yeah to the uninitiated, one would think that all the BMW drivers really are into Golf and Baseball !

At least they are not shooting you, thats a plus.

I remember being in my friends BMW late at night one time on LInSen N.Rd. Something like 3am. And the streets were packed. We were at a red light, which turned green but he kept yakking to me and forgot to get moving . The funny thing was that the whole line of taxis behind us never let out a single pip on the horn. Of course, they thought 3am, LinSen N.Rd. White BMW ? MEans only one thing. GAngster car ! Best not to honk and let ā€œtah kehā€ move off when he pleases.

It really is best to let sleeping dogs lie in Taiwan. Donā€™t go looking for trouble, because for sure you ARE going to find it.

I used to get well worked up with craptastic drivers in Taiwan and China.

Realized I was ruining my OWN health getting all angry and righteous.

Now I more or less go with the flow. Why, yesterday a scooter bumped into me from behind (on the sidewalk of course). I heard the crappy front wheel arch buckle as it made contact with my leg (at about a walking speed of 1km/h).

Turned around, got a ā€˜buhaoyiseā€™, gave the cow a stiff look, and carried on.

10 years ago I would have shouted at her. Couldnā€™t be arsed anymore, unless someone really fucks with my life.

Believe me, if the gun law was more lenient in Taiwan there would be more gun related killings per capita here than in the US, and it not only relates to gang related punks.

I know, I may have shot someone myself a few days ago too here in the USA, if I had a gun. The guy had the gall to honk at my wife when she took more then 2 seconds to get moving at a STOP sign :laughing:
Now I tell her to get moving. You have 2 seconds at a STOP sign, not 5 seconds.

Over here I think I only honk my horn maybe half a dozen times a year. Honking is so rare that people get pissed off when you honk at them. In LA , some people get shot over that.

That vid posted earlier about a guy in a black van getting ticked off when someone behind him honked at him is the new trend in Taiwan too. I guess horn honking has gone down on the rock? Is that even possible??

Iā€™m from LA, and I donā€™t know anyone who considers honking a serious offense. Of course youā€™re going to get angry if someone honks repeatedly and for no reason, but if you cut someone off and you get honked at, thatā€™s fair. Itā€™s not like Taiwan, where honking is a warrant to truly horrific things like stop in the middle of the freeway to go at an old lady with a golf club. Seen videos of that more than once.

Just what is the issue with honking anyway? Cars have horns for a reason.

Yes but anything more then a light ā€œtootā€ on the horn, like to tell people in front of you that the light has turned green, can be considered offensive here in the Bay Area. And I suspect has led to some road rage incidents.

[quote=ā€œFeirenā€]I saw this story on the news last night.

The photos tell the story of one great way to get your ass kicked in Taiwan.

Variations of this have happened regularly in the 20+ years I have been in Taiwan. The foreigner almost always comes out as the victim of an often serious beating. This guy was lucky he didnā€™t end up in the hospital.

  1. American dude rides motorcyle on Highway 26 between Fangliao and Kending (Danger! Taike territory with Taike visitors from all over island joining the numerous local ones). Notice that he is lawfully in the the left lane because of the type of motorcycle.

  2. Black sedan (Danger! Danger! Taike alert! Taike alert!) dangerously passes him and cuts him off (Danger! Danger! Meth/alcohol/betel nut-intoxicated driver operating vehicle!).

  3. Instead of pulling over and settling down from a near miss in a possibly fatal collision, American loses his cool, pulls up beside the car, and yells (according to him, but a foolish confrontational act regardless of what he says) ā€œWhatā€™s wrong with you.ā€ (Danger! Danger! You have no idea who might be in car.) In this case, one of the occupants was this gentleman:

He says he thought that American dude told him to F-off. Thereā€™s no point in arguing over what was actually said. The point is that the kind of guys who were in this car want some foreigner to tell them to F-off. They live for this kind of confrontation. They will hear what they want to hear.

Actually, they donā€™t care if it is a foreigner. This happens to other Taiwanese people all the time. See this example from Jinshan in July.

  1. Two of the occupants beat the American dude down with golf clubs (Were they on the way to the Hengchun links? I think not.).

Iā€™m not condoning what happened. The people in the car should be prosecuted. They were driving dangerously and whatever the American guy said could never have justified a beat down with golf clubs.

But what happened was entirely predictable.

Donā€™t do this.[/quote]

Thanks for this post. I am at the end of my stay in Taiwan and my nerves are almost literally jumping out of my skin. I do this shit all the time, even if I know I should not.
Good reminder.

Look at what kids (HS/college age) do when they are confronted by someone in power (like a teacher).

Teacher: You did XYZ!! Why did you do that! Thatā€™s wrong! You shouldnā€™t do that!
Students: [say nothing at all, bow heads and look at the floor, occasionally glancing up to see if the teacher is finished yet. Then they go about their business. Scolding has no effect at all, but teacher can hardly keep yelling when they donā€™t argue back. Teacher saves face, because s/he gets to yell at them; students get their way because they arenā€™t affected and donā€™t change their behavior.]

[quote=ā€œFeirenā€]
4. Two of the occupants beat the American dude down with golf clubs (Were they on the way to the Hengchun links? I think not.).

Iā€™m not condoning what happened. The people in the car should be prosecuted. They were driving dangerously and whatever the American guy said could never have justified a beat down with golf clubs.

But what happened was entirely predictable.

Donā€™t do this.[/quote]

They love their golf clubs.
And there are people who deserved that.

Back in 1991, the road in Taroko Gorge was about 2 and a quarter lane wide for two lane traffic. Often with rock falls, about 1 and half lane wide. So people were queing up car behind car to move.
There was this driver who charged on the wrong side of the road and just trucking on as if his in a hurry supersede anything else.

A car in the line ahead must have seen that in his rear view mirror and pulled out to stop that bastard.
Who then blared his horn. Resulting in people in that car jumping out with golf clubs and steering lock to teach patience and politeness will lead to good behaviour from other people as well.

Yes, when I first came to Taiwan 25 years ago, honking was very common. Now itā€™s quite rareā€¦ in Taipei, at least. (Or maybe Iā€™ve just grown to ignore it.)

I always thought Honking was quite rare here, only taxis used to honk at every intersection to warn other cars or scooters they were coming through.

Honking is considered rude and an act of hostility in TW.

When I drove in texas, you either let things go or better have a gun in your car as well. Gotta follow the laws of the jungle wherever you are, especially if you are a not a local.

One particular story was these groups of foreign exchange students that got their ass beat in the back room and called the cops. I was there and since I spoke English and Chinese I tried to help them. So basically these girls were complaining that their male friends got beat up in the back room by security and kicked out and the cops didnā€™t do anything. After listening to their story, I looked at them and said you guys are not telling the full story. I worked in clubs before and I know the only reason they would do that is if they were doing something that was causing trouble at the clubs, otherwise they wouldnā€™t do that to paying customers. Finally the girls fessed up that the guys in their group started a fight with another group. Really stupid to do at the clubs. I told the group take this as a lesson, clubs can be safe and fun if you are careful. And you need to be extra careful when you are in a foreign country and donā€™t speak the local language. And if you are going to start a fight be prepare for the consequences like getting your ass beat.

Sometimes I honk at other cars because I am angryā€¦sometimes because I am scared and just react. I mean when a car suddenly cuts you off from your left side as you are crossing a railroad trackā€¦I was really startled. The guy decided to pass the 4 cars in front of him including mine in an area illegal to pass carsā€¦not to mention oncoming cars and entering the railroad track area. I honked my horn as he swerved in front of me. Then after the railroad track he stopped in middle of road to display his displeasure at my honking. I honked againā€¦this time out of anger. I knowā€¦my bad.

So he passed four cars in a illegal area (I assume he was in a rush) just to stop a few meters ahead? :wall:

i see that move everyday. the rush to get a few meters ahead then stop i mean.