I’ve been calling the cops at 110 quite a bit lately, reporting cars and scooters that are illegally parked on the sidewalk or along a red line. I don’t report every illegally parked vehicle, but only those that get in my way - on a sidewalk I have to walk past, in front of my front door, at a corner where the traffic is particularly tight, etc. The police usually show up within 20 minutes to issue the ticket. I’ve been doing enough that certain places that used to have a thick lineup of scooters - such as the corner in front of the original Kanpai - are now mostly clear without me having to report anything.
So if you find yourself climbing over some scooters, or find a neighborhood car a particular eyesore, don’t hesitate to call 110!
Another option is a take a photo or video and report it to the police website. But this is better for moving violations as it’s more of a hassle to fill out the form:
Not really…It’s a ten second free phone call. And it can be done while walking past the scene of the violation without having to stop. The folks at 110 only want to know the exact address and the type of violation and nothing else.
I get reporting a vehicle that’s blocking your personal driveway, but just going around looking for infractions on corners and trying to play “traffic cop” makes me think you have some issues with power and authority.
Well, I do have some issues with the “no complaint, no enforcement” attitude that law enforcement takes in most of Taiwan, and the lack of rule of law in general. Why paint a curb red if you’re not going to enforce it? Red curbs are meant to leave enough clearance in a lane to allow emergency vehicles to pass and park. If they’ve painted too many red curbs, then perhaps they should fix that instead.
Three reasons why people illegally parked in my neighborhood deserve no leniency:
For cars, there is a public underground parking structure 50 meters down the street - people should use it instead of trying to be a cheapskate. You can afford a car, so you can also afford to pay for parking.
For motorcycles, you should already know that parking is difficult to find in dongqu so use public transportation to get here if you are only one or two people. The area between the Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT and Zhongxiao Dunhua MRT stations is well served not only by the MRT, but multiple bus lines and youbike stations.
There is very little tolerance for illegally parked vehicles in this neighborhood to begin with. If you are from Sanchong and think it is okay to park on the sidewalk, and your scooter happens to be the only one parked on Daan Rd Sec 1 because the regulars know that parking on the sidewalk in dongqu is much more likely to get you ticketed than in Sanchong, then perhaps you’ve already done something wrong. There’s a reason the sidewalks aren’t already thick full of scooters like most of Taiwan. I’ve been cleaning out the outliers instead of getting the whole neighborhood ticketed.
OP’s behavior shows that he has no issues with power and authority. In fact, it shows that you have issues with power and authority!
OP has the reasonable expectation that sidewalks not be used as parking space. OP has this reasonable expectation, as it reflects the legal regulation of roads in this country.
OP could simply take matters in his/her own hands and push scooters away or do worse. But as a good citizen, OP accepts that in a representative democratic system, such actions are reserved to the executive. Hence OP reports infractions to the police.
You, DrewCutz on the other hand do not seem to understand the notion of rule of law.
I personally think if you have this much time and effort. It would be more amusing to print realistic tickets and write a crazy amount of fines to mess with people.
Who here hasn’t walked down a sidewalk just to find it completely blocked by some scooter or car whose driver couldn’t be arsed to park it so pedestrians didn’t have to walk out in the street to get by? Happened to me at least three times today. I used to kick the rear/side view mirrors off until my wife made me stop so if yours went missing in the past it was probably me. Now my wife or I call it in and run off cackling to a safe distance so we can watch the fun. I suppose if I were a scooter rider who didn’t give a shit where he parked I wouldn’t see things the same way but I’m not, so I don’t.
Taipei city also has a mobile app to report parking violations: https://itunes.apple.com/tw/app/北市警政/id598191163?mt=8. All you have to do is snap two pictures, one of the front, one of the back, type in the address or let the GPS find it for you, and hit submit. They’ll follow up with an email after a couple weeks letting you know they either processed the fine or there was an issue with the report.
Sadly, the photo has to clearly show the driver seat is empty or they can’t issue a fine. Apparently just hanging out in a pedestrian lane is totally legal as long as you’re in the car .
Generally my policy is to report selfishness that endangers other people, i.e. parking in the pedestrian lane on my narrow alley forcing people to walk in the middle of the street as taxis zoom by. If they’re sitting in the car a tap on the window and gentle reminder they’re in a pedestrian lane is usually enough face loss to get them to leave.
There’s a guy down the road that puts a bicycle or scooter in the parking place whenever he drives his car. Is that a violation that can be reported? I really want to use that space But I can’t move the bicycle or scooter cuz then he will recognize my car and then probably damage it or something I don’t know.
I’ve called the police a few times to report a car parked in a spot that hinders traffic or the crosswalks for pedestrians. I don’t see it as having issues with power and authority. Whether the police actually comes or not is another issue.
BTW, I’ve heard from some of my neighbors that it’s ok to park in a handicap spot after 9pm? Is this for reals or just bullshit?
Article 56: scooter
In the event of any of the followings when parking the car, car drivers shall be fined from NT$600 to NT$1,200:
9. Failing to park in accordance with the regulations regarding parking times, locations, methods, and vehicle types.
Article 74: bicycle
In the event of any of the followings, the driver of a slow-moving vehicle shall be fined from NT$300 to NT$600:
4. Parking in violation of regulations.
I have always been curious about this. Thanks for clarifying.
I live in an older neighborhood with very very narrow alleys. Almost all the first floor tenants have garages, BUT don’t use them and just park their car right outside of their garage door. I’ve noticed the lines aren’t painted, so the tenants think it’s fair game, this results in the narrow alley shrinking to a car width. Tell me this is a violation of something @tando . I’m quite close to dialing that 110 or 1999, but wasn’t sure.
If the situation corresponds to any of below, it’s a violation.
Article 56
In the event of any of the followings when parking the car, car drivers shall be fined from NT$600 to NT$1,200:
2 Parking on winding roads, hill roads, narrow roads, channelizing lines, dividing islands or road section under construction.
5 Parking in places that obviously hinder the passing of other people or vehicles.
6 Parking without conforming to the traffic direction, without keeping to the right-hand side of the roadways,or parking without keeping to the edges of one-way streets.
Yes, thanks @tando . The violators definitely conform to 5. However, a mere 600-1200NT won’t get them to not do it again. Would need to report them multiple times for them to get a clue.
Now I’m wondering if I have this much free time to report them since there’s more than one car that does this…
call 110 not 1999. you can report all the cars in one 30 second phone call. you just have to pinpoint the location (you could give a range of addresses), type of violation, and number of vehicles involved. they don’t ask for the license plates or for your personal details.
in my experience calling multiple times eventually scares away the repeat offenders once they sense a pattern and think a neighborhood granny has them under surveillance.
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