Everyone, really? Taipei must be a different world then.[/quote]
[color=#FF0000]I’ve never seen anyone riding without a helmet on, have you?[/color][/quote]
Are we talking about the same country? Taiwan?
If so, I invite you to visit me for a weekend in Tainan. … People wearing helmets on scooters? Surely that’s just a suggestion? :roflmao:[/quote]
Yes, different worlds. On the main streets in Taipei you seldom see helmetless riders. Taipei County back roads, more often. Tainan City, fewer helmets, and Tainan County, even fewer.
The original point stands: helmets used to be totally optional, despite the supposed law; increased enforcement has led to most drivers in Taipei City wearing them. Helmet use has increased a lot in the years that I’ve been here (and even more so for bike helmets; it used to seem like it was just me and the Mormons!).
If the cops just ticketed other infractions, then the other laws would be followed. Things can change, and change surprisingly quickly.
Oh…um…sorry, I just realised this isn’t in the Fun and Games forum.
Everyone, really? Taipei must be a different world then.
Are we talking about the same country? Taiwan?
If so, I invite you to visit me for a weekend in Tainan. I have a spare bedroom. Come on down. We’ll “re-educate” you on helmet-less drivers and folks going home after 12 beers on the scooter.
People wearing helmets on scooters? Surely that’s just a suggestion? :roflmao:[/quote]
Rube, there is, in fact, life outside of Tainan.
The poster doesn’t need “re-education”, since he’s speaking the truth.
Prior to the early to mid 90’s, there were no helmet laws.
Then the laws were established, and in Taipei, at least, and most of the counties, strenuously enforced, and continue to be so to this day (I refer to adult drivers and riders, the woeful lack of enforcement for child passengers is, sadly, a matter of record and has its own thread elsewhere).
It’s extremely rare to see a helmet-less driver anywhere in greater Taipei.
They have shoes up here, too, whether you believe that or not.
Steady now. Didn’t you used to work in Tucheng?[/quote]
Yeah, but I maintained awareness that there were, in fact, places where the 10 toes/two eyes/two arms/one head standard prevailed, despite what I saw every day…
They should make it simple … no helmet, not fastened … no insurance covering … no hong bao … nothing. Always in the wrong, no matter what. Live with it.
Everyone, really? Taipei must be a different world then.[/quote]
[color=#FF0000]I’ve never seen anyone riding without a helmet on, have you?[/color][/quote]
Are we talking about the same country? Taiwan?
If so, I invite you to visit me for a weekend in Tainan. … People wearing helmets on scooters? Surely that’s just a suggestion? :roflmao:[/quote]
Yes, different worlds. On the main streets in Taipei you seldom see helmetless riders. Taipei County back roads, more often. Tainan City, fewer helmets, and Tainan County, even fewer.
The original point stands: helmets used to be totally optional, despite the supposed law; increased enforcement has led to most drivers in Taipei City wearing them. Helmet use has increased a lot in the years that I’ve been here (and even more so for bike helmets; it used to seem like it was just me and the Mormons!).
If the cops just ticketed other infractions, then the other laws would be followed. Things can change, and change surprisingly quickly.[/quote]
Indeed. You are quite right. People have become a lot more helmet conscious in recent years, even down here in Hicksville.
If you splash people, the offence you are charged with is driving without due care or attention and driving without reasonable consideration for other road users.
It is not an offence in itself and the court have to prove that the splashing incident was unavoidable or at the very least, not intentional, which is very difficult.[/quote]
Ok I’m not going to argue with you about this, but if you get points on your license that’s classed as a criminal record. Whether it’s provable or not is another matter. The fact is that it is illegal to do it. There are lots of things that are illegal but unenforceable, just like there are lots of things that are illegal and just unenforced, for example parking on the right is not allowed in the UK but I’ve never seen a single person get a parking ticket for it, same with parking on the pavement.
Bismarck: I live in Taizhong, and I have not seen a single person riding without a helmet. Children yes, dogs yes, but adult riders and passenger, never.
Not that a helmet will do you must good when you drive like you’re on drugs or something, as a lot of people here seem to do. I saw a car doing about 50 mph through donghai, with is a very busy, narrow, night market, with a large number of people, and no pavements anywhere. Doing that kind of speed on that kind of road would get you banned in the UK (probably) for dangerous driving.
Personally as I’ve said, education is the key, followed by enforcement. If you teach people good driving habits right from the start then they are more likely to follow them after they get their license. The harder you have to work to get the license the less likely you are to do things that will you mean you lose it. In the UK everyone who has had a license for less than 2 years can get a maximum of 6 points on their license, after which they lose it and have to retake their driving test again (speeding is worth 3 points btw). After 2 years it goes up to 12 points. The idea being that you are more likely to behave yourself if the consequences are more severe just after you pass, which is when you’re more vulnerable, and then hopefully that will carry on because you’ve gotten into the habit of behaving yourself.
[quote=“ninman”]Bismarck: I live in Taizhong, and I have not seen a single person riding without a helmet. Children yes, dogs yes, but adult riders and passenger, never.
Not that a helmet will do you must good when you drive like you’re on drugs or something, as a lot of people here seem to do. I saw a car doing about 50 mph through donghai, with is a very busy, narrow, night market, with a large number of people, and no pavements anywhere. Doing that kind of speed on that kind of road would get you banned in the UK (probably) for dangerous driving.
Personally as I’ve said, education is the key, followed by enforcement. If you teach people good driving habits right from the start then they are more likely to follow them after they get their license. The harder you have to work to get the license the less likely you are to do things that will you mean you lose it. In the UK everyone who has had a license for less than 2 years can get a maximum of 6 points on their license, after which they lose it and have to retake their driving test again (speeding is worth 3 points btw). After 2 years it goes up to 12 points. The idea being that you are more likely to behave yourself if the consequences are more severe just after you pass, which is when you’re more vulnerable, and then hopefully that will carry on because you’ve gotten into the habit of behaving yourself.[/quote]
Fair enough until a stupid drunk or gong HO foreigner shoots a video of himself racing in the street of Taiwan causing chaos or hitting someone and then gets into the news like last year. Then the natives go wild and crazy on foreigners again. As stated in previous post, foreigners never wins so, adapt and be safe. + this country is very nationalistic due to what ever they think that the world has done is unfair to them. YOU can’t win. Buy a bus pass and you will still find something wrong.
Get with the program. Do like most of us, buy good protective gear for your body or the biggest truck you can find and or make friends with some badboys lol
Yeah, well get this Buddy - I am arguing with you.
If you have points on your license, you are not classed as a criminal and you don’t get a criminal record. That’s utter bovine excrement.
What planet are you on, 'cause it sure ain’t the terra firma we call Earth, mate.
Also, if you swerve to avoid a cat, or an old lady - or some dumb idiot on a scooter who can’t be bothered to indicate that he is looking for a parking space so other people have some idea of what he is doing - and then you accidentally splash someone waiting at a bus stop, that is an unavoidable situation. It is the same if it is unsafe to swerve - the situation has to be managed safely.
Parking on the pavement is not illegal everywhere in the UK and it depends on which councils allow it and which don’t. I was done several times when at uni in Leeds for parking on the pavement - got a fixed penalty thing for unnecessary obstruction or something and had to pay 30 squid.
Also, the Highway Code is not a book of laws - it is a code of conduct which refers to laws within the Road Traffic Act.
You’re on this thing called the internet - yep - you’re on it right now. Why don’t you go and have a look under the Road Traffic Act and find out what things are illegal and illegal, and stop getting your laws from sky news?
Yeah, but Saigon, or Vietnam as a whole does not delude itself to being anything other than 3rd world. Taiwan on the other hand, thinks it’s the bees knees. In reality, though, the rice farmers and temple folk haven’t progressed enough to realise that there is no connection between hanging a picture of a distracting Buddah on your rear view mirror and not embedding your incisors into the fake cowhide adorning the dashboard of a Toyota Wish.
Yeah, well get this Buddy - I am arguing with you.
If you have points on your license, you are not classed as a criminal and you don’t get a criminal record. That’s utter bovine excrement.
What planet are you on, 'cause it sure ain’t the terra firma we call Earth, mate.
Also, if you swerve to avoid a cat, or an old lady - or some dumb idiot on a scooter who can’t be bothered to indicate that he is looking for a parking space so other people have some idea of what he is doing - and then you accidentally splash someone waiting at a bus stop, that is an unavoidable situation. It is the same if it is unsafe to swerve - the situation has to be managed safely.
Parking on the pavement is not illegal everywhere in the UK and it depends on which councils allow it and which don’t. I was done several times when at uni in Leeds for parking on the pavement - got a fixed penalty thing for unnecessary obstruction or something and had to pay 30 squid.
Also, the Highway Code is not a book of laws - it is a code of conduct which refers to laws within the Road Traffic Act.
You’re on this thing called the internet - yep - you’re on it right now. Why don’t you go and have a look under the Road Traffic Act and find out what things are illegal and illegal, and stop getting your laws from sky news?[/quote]
Well good for you, you keep on arguing, I’m going to go and spend my time doing other more worth while things than having a fight with a foreigner about the British road traffic system.
Well, I don’t want to get into a fight either…better cool it, eh? I don’t mean to pull you up, just thought your info was a bit erroneous, that’s all.
How’s DongHi? Been up to those abandoned military installations overlooking Taichung and the ones on the other side overlooking DaDu yet? Nice views, and a nice ride out when you have 30 or 40 minutes to spare.
It’s worth pointing out that driving is uniformly awful wherever you go in the world. There are a few pockets of civility (I won’t say civilisation because I think cars are fundamentally uncivilised) but in MOST places people drive like they have a death wish, or at least aspire to murder someone else. Taiwan is no exception, but the UK (which currently has one of the lowest accident rates in the world) was a scene of constant carnage only a few decades ago; absolute death rate was fairly low simply because few people had cars, but percentage-wise was horrible until very recently.
There is a theory floating around something to the effect that accident rates follow a predictable trajectory, related to traffic density and prevalence of car ownership; I can’t remember the guy who originated it (sometime in the 60’s or 70’s) but it’s been reliably demonstrated across many different cultures.
[quote=“finley”]It’s worth pointing out that driving is uniformly awful wherever you go in the world. There are a few pockets of civility (I won’t say civilisation because I think cars are fundamentally uncivilised) but in MOST places people drive like they have a death wish, or at least aspire to murder someone else. Taiwan is no exception, but the UK (which currently has one of the lowest accident rates in the world) was a scene of constant carnage only a few decades ago; absolute death rate was fairly low simply because few people had cars, but percentage-wise was horrible until very recently.
There is a theory floating around something to the effect that accident rates follow a predictable trajectory, related to traffic density and prevalence of car ownership; I can’t remember the guy who originated it (sometime in the 60’s or 70’s) but it’s been reliably demonstrated across many different cultures.[/quote]
Yes, that’s correct, however there’s a reason why it’s been declining. The government actually cares about it, they are constantly trying to improve the driving education and test system, and also find ways to prevent people doing things that cause accidents, for example speeding. Most accidents are caused by poor driver decisions, so educating people is an excellent way to cut it down.
The difference here is that nobody gives a shit about it. Bad driving, speeding, uninsured drivers, boy racers, white van man and so on, are always topics of discussion in the UK. I think thats the difference between the UK and places like Taiwan, we know it’s not perfect, but we also want to improve it. Here they know it’s terrible, but they just don’t care.
What’s wrong. that is Hsinchu city. I live there. Actually seems like a slow day. Dude you are going to have the worst time of your life here if you can’t deal with that. :roflmao:
Well she would be correct then if people ride without a licence.
I have an expat friend here who has lived here for 8 years, goes out on the town gets shitfaced, after 8 years still no licence, cleans up a lass on another scooter and is now having to pay her every month to settle damages and medicals and loss of income.
If you have no licence here you are automatically at fault.
