I was coming home the other night when i was cut off by a large truck. I get cut off every day, but this was worse and more dangerous. He caught me at a bad time and I flipped him the bird, I usually let it go. He then became enraged and started chasing me with this huge truck and he was determined, I was on my scooter. I wasn’t afraid of this guy, but nothing good would have come from stopping and putting my foot in his ass, so I bolted. I’m pretty sure he was going to run me over, when he caught up to me I just turned off, this happened a few times and lasted about 5 minutes. I finally lost him. What a mess! . It was dark, not sure if he knew i was a foreigner, wonder what he would have done had I pulled over.
drive directly to a police station… whilst it’s happening, and get his plate number as you stop. don’t stop at a random quiet place and have it out with him!
I generally don’t road rage anyone when on my scooter (although I mutter to myself a lot). However, I’m extremely aggressive when on my bicycle. I will flip people off, shout obsenities at them and call them idiots, morons, etc. Once, a scooter kept getting too close, so I gave him a hip and shoulder. Screw them, if they can’t learn how to drive, and they’re going to endanger my life, then they deserve a serve. Half these clowns shouldn’t be allowed any form of locomotion, and that includes the idiots who walk three abreast at a snail’s pace down tiny streets. If they want to have a go, they can. I’m bigger, stronger, fitter and probably a better fighter. I doubt any of these five foot nothing, betelnut chewing idiots would be very brave when not perched behind the wheel of a huge truck though.
Feel the love, feel the love!
they might not be alone, but their twenty friends might be. be careful out there!
Driving trucks too? I can imagine them all getting the call and stopping leering at some girl a third their age and then descending upon Taoyuan en masse to find the agro waiguoren cyclist. Haha. Besides, at an average height of 153cm, and in flip flops, do you think they could chase after me?
Actually, my girlfriend’s dad drives a blue truck, though he doesn’t chew betelnut! Haha.
I was kind of taking the piss. I wouldn’t expect to fight anyone. I’d be off on the bicycle before anything happened.
I agree heartily with the second portion of advice. As to the first, what sir do you believe the local constabulary would do in such a circumstance? My fear is they would contact the lunatic unadvertantly giving out your name and address and leave you open for reparations. Sad as it is to say the police station doors are only there to provide a shelter during a late night urination.
If you are fortuitus enough to survive a close call I propose either accepting Buddhism or buying a car.
Sad, but true, your whole life can drastically change or even end in an instant here. It doesn’t take much, and things can quickly go south. I’m with ya man, sometimes its hard to drop it. Life has no value to most of the drivers/people in this part of Taiwan. I have a daily challenge to keep my cool each and every time I leave the apartment. I try not to take it so seriously but its hard.
very funny.
Your fear is pretty close to what would happen. They might give it to them for free or maybe a small fee. Even if that didn’t work, most people have alternate methods of finding out where you live. After all, they’d already have your license number and security in Taiwan is non-existent.
Better just to let it go. After a year of driving in Taiwan, I’ve learned that you honk once or twice and let it go. No need to get angry and do stupid shit - the Taiwanese either won’t care or it’ll come back to haunt you. Better just to go with the flow.
well one time i did the same, but my case was a little different, i was alone in a motorcycle trip coming out from hualien to taroko on my liter bike, then one of those huge trucks, not the little blue ones, i am talking huge beast truck… almost hit me while some how he was trying to pass me… then i just pass him and went in front of him at 20 km/h, for at least 5 min, when he was moving to pass me i just moved on the same direction, he was mad… making noise with his engine and shit, but at that moment i was not aware of what i was doing, i was just full of adrenaline due to the previous incident, when i came to my self and calmed down, i just gave him the finger and took of, i know now it was not a smart move, but fuck it…
I hate those wankers who sit behind you and scare the hell out of you and want you to go faster to the point of endagering your own life and possibly others. Morons.
Just take your foot of the gas and let them go by.
Sometimes it’s not possible. Most weekends I travel across the island from Taoyuan to Toucheng and back. The section after Xindian is pretty narrow and windy and there aren’t always safe opportunities to pull over and do so. There aren’t too many trucks (fortunately), but the car drivers are still insane. They overtake at high speeds on blind corners, crests of hills, etc., or they ride everyone (not just me) about a metre or two behind.
If I was going from Taoyuan to Tucheng, I’d take the bai er gau; much safer than a mountain road. Oh, you must be on a bike…hadn’t thought about that. 
Yeah, I’m on a scooter for that trip.
I gave up on scooters and motorbikes years ago. Just to many close calls on a daily basis. That, combined with the hour-plus commute out the nether reaches of Taipei County everyday pretty much ruined my back and put me in a foul mood almost all the time.
If you plan to stay awhile, it might be safer to invest in a cheap second hand car. If not, stay safe and ride as smart as you can.
Ultimately, I may end up doing that, and cycle the rest of the time (though that’s still dangerous). I’d be worried about driving a car though in case I cleaned up the speeding scooters zipping by. Car drivers here aren’t great, but honestly, I’m not sure I could do a better job. With thousands and thousands of scooters flying past every hour, it’s only a matter of time before you hit one. This kind of gets to the crux of a problem a friend was once discussing with me. He was basically saying Taiwan really needs to have one or the other: scooters or cars (and trucks, etc.) because the two are fairly at odds with each other. Yet obviously that’s not only impractical (since most people can’t afford to buy cars and there’s not enough space anyway, and those who drive four-wheeled vehicles often need them), but also just not going to happen even by choice since they’re a status symbol.
A car is definitely the way to go. I purchased a second (or third?) hand Ford for less thank 30k. I’ve been driving it since April and haven’t had to spend anything on repairs yet. If you look around and buy from another foreigner, you can get a pretty sweet deal. My car may not be the most stylish thing around, but I’d rather be alive in an old car then dead next to a shiny new scooter.
About driving with scooters around, it’s not as bad as you might guess. The golden rule is that you never, ever, move to the right or left - even a hair - without first checking your mirrors.
Did someone say car? What did you get barfomcgee?
I realise this may sound funny in light of the driving abilities of most people on this island, but did you need/get a licence? If so, how hard was it?