I got stopped by police for a traffic violation, then few min later cop tried to stop another motorist but he ran. Few months ago I also saw it twice. So I was thinking if you run do you get away with it most of the time? seems like a lot of them just run and cops don’t even bother running after them. Maybe the fine ain’t too big if you get caught later too?
So if the violation is minor anything you can say to get out of a ticket? what to say? possible to pay the cops out of a ticket?
Sometimes they will shoot at runners…I mean very rarely but it has happened in the past.
No worries there then HH, as long as their aim is the same standard as their driving 
[quote=“suiken”]I got stopped by police for a traffic violation, then few min later cop tried to stop another motorist but he ran. Few months ago I also saw it twice. So I was thinking if you run do you get away with it most of the time? seems like a lot of them just run and cops don’t even bother running after them. Maybe the fine ain’t too big if you get caught later too?
So if the violation is minor anything you can say to get out of a ticket? what to say? possible to pay the cops out of a ticket?[/quote]
My advice is NOT to do a runner. A few reasons,mainly the fact that it is just is not worth it.If you speak English,it’s a possibility that you will be warned. In theory,they should get an English speaker back at the station etc,etc,which is a real pain for a Policeman.
Take the ticket…as you say it is cheap. Running would potentially put more “bad foreigner” publicity out there…on top of Zain …(whether you think he is Guilty or innocent,it is seen to be bad)
Not worth risking running someone over to save a small fine IMO. 
I did a runner.
I then felt guilty about it…and went back.
The guy thanked me for coming back, asked me where I was from then LITERALLY padded me on the shoulder and let me go (no ticket, no warning, no nothing).
(I was in a hurry and tired…in a bad mood…then I was all like FUCK…so went back). No one shot at me though.
i saw 2 guys running a police officer in the last month in Kaohsiung. His scooter was parked there and I thought for sure he would chase but all he did was go back the scooter and take out a book and note it down, but nothing was done.
.
However the suckers that stopped were all fined, no mercy
Lesson: the meek get trampled
In my first few months in Taiwan I borrowed a scooter and whizzed around rather haphazardly.
Every now and then I’d see police waving red sticks and go on my merry way. A few months later the scooter owner received some fines in the post for ‘driving without a helmet’.
Yeah I was a newbie once.
Dont run ,especially at the coast as they do often shoot at coastal areas. The military police there have better aim.
Besides, if you are nice to the cops you may get let off.
Iv been stopped by freeway police for speeding i think 4 times? And each time I got let off with a good story. Just be sure to not give them two stories as they will ask you what story you are staying with !
The only time i got a ticket was from a moto cop in taipei. 600nt for making a U turn on a NO LEFT TURN sign.
I said “but i made a U turn, not a Left Turn”
He said NO LEft Turn means NO U turn also.
IM not sure hes right, but 600nt ticket was real.
all the other tickets were from cameras. Aint no getting away from those. Pay up or pay up to 4 times the amount !
There was a STOP sign (believe it or not) at a small street near the Taipei Zoo . And I went over the sign as STOP signs back then are as rare as Unicorns.
So this policeman standing there flagged me down.
I said. I was afraid I was going to go over the line and get a ticket so i didnt see the STOP sign as that intersection was super small. And besides I was paying attention to you because I saw you so I didnt see the sign.
He said choose a story and stay with it ! Then he wanted to give me a 500nt ticket.
I said, come on man, give me a break , its a dinky STOP sign on a small intersection, who can see it while paying attention to not running over the white line because one is paying attention to you standing there !
he said OK forget it, you can go. I started to walk away but then he stopped me again and said
“no i better give you a ticket because if you tell my superiors i will lose my job”
I said “are you kidding me? im going to go tell your superiors you let me go from a 500nt ticket?? I can get a nice steak with that, why would i drive over to the police station and report you for not giving me a ticket?? . Trust me on this”
so he reluctantly let me go.
Police are afraid of getting framed too i guess or being set up.
All they want to go is get their salary and keep their jobs with no hassles please.
Thats why they drive around with their lights on. They are saying Pls behave, police coming thru, dont be stupid and force us to do paperwork.
They dont really love being cops i suspect.
Its just a job, like driving a bus.
[quote=“headhonchoII”]In my first few months in Taiwan I borrowed a scooter and whizzed around rather haphazardly.
Every now and then I’d see police waving red sticks and go on my merry way. A few months later the scooter owner received some fines in the post for ‘driving without a helmet’.
Yeah I was a newbie once.[/quote]
Paperless scooters don’t have this issue 
Hey Tommy
Ive noticed up in Tainan county, the drinking and driving spot checks are manned by over 10 cops and some with machine guns. You would have to be an absolute moron to run. It used to be that they would set up in an obvious location with flashing lights and the drunks would just U Turn but now they set up ahead of you, and if you turn right you run into another roadblock, and if you u turn they have a cop waiting for that too.
I have only ever received one camera ticket for just passing the stop bar, that is $800. Other than that I know where every camera is in my travels in Kaohsiung and Tainan so no worries there. You see everyone’s brake lights come on as they all pass the camera, and then the lead foot continues once out of range of the stupid camera.
I was only stopped once by a police officer and he let me go. I had stopped at a red light and was waiting, and an old guy beside me decided to run the light. I was not paying attention, heard the roar of a scooter engine, and like a sheep I followed him. The old guy saw the police roadblock and hung an emergency right avoiding it, and I stupidly drove right into it. I told him what I did and admitted to inadvertently running the light and he believed me and let me go with a warning.
[quote=“shiadoa”]My advice is NOT to do a runner. A few reasons,mainly the fact that it is just is not worth it.If you speak English,it’s a possibility that you will be warned. In theory,they should get an English speaker back at the station etc,etc,which is a real pain for a Policeman.
Take the ticket…as you say it is cheap. Running would potentially put more “bad foreigner” publicity out there…on top of Zain …(whether you think he is Guilty or innocent,it is seen to be bad)
Not worth risking running someone over to save a small fine IMO. [/quote]
Seems like sound advice. The one time I got stopped in a random check, the fellow then saw I was white and didn’t want to go through the trouble of eengalishee and waved me on.
Anyone who needs the advice not to run from the police needs a lot more than just that advice.
Yup, agree.
In this day and age, one would think they had cameras on their cars and bikes, so they can catch any runners.
I got clotheslined by cops at a roadblock in Taichung in 2004 (trying to get through it by slowing down, then speeding up). Then relieved of my bike and told to get a local friend to pick me up and take me home.
Learnt my lesson good.
Just follow the law, guys (at least to the extent that locals do). Don’t use “I’m white” as an excuse to break it or get off easily, because it reinforces social stereotypes that foreigners live in their own world – and that’s a two-way street that can work against you as easily as it can help you. For example:
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2013/05/05/377798/US-man.htm
Will anyone believe his story? No. Why? Because he’s foreign, and it’s his word vs. a cop’s.
[quote=“Hokwongwei”]Just follow the law, guys (at least to the extent that locals do). Don’t use “I’m white” as an excuse to break it or get off easily, because it reinforces social stereotypes that foreigners live in their own world – and that’s a two-way street that can work against you as easily as it can help you. For example:
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2013/05/05/377798/US-man.htm
Will anyone believe his story? No. Why? Because he’s foreign, and it’s his word vs. a cop’s.[/quote]
I would think that he really tried to do something weird to make a cop pull a gun on him.
Also, if they let him off the hook with a fine for something he did, he should shut up about it and take it like a man.
I get traffic fines very often, mainly for speeding, and if you stop and accept the fine, they are usually quite friendly.
He called a press conference instead of just filing a complaint which means he understands how things work in Taiwan. And in that case, he should know that if he’s making stuff up and arguing against a police officer it’s a hopeless endeavor, which makes me think there’s probably something to it. Note that he’s admitted to breaking the law and isn’t complaining about a fine – he’s just saying the officer went waaaay overboard by pointing a gun at his head, which is a HUGE difference from pointing the gun anywhere else on his body.
i think the officer was out of line to point a gun at a guys head for running a red light with a moto.
Even US cops dont do that.
OUt of line.
[quote=“tommy525”]I said “but i made a U turn, not a Left Turn”
He said NO LEft Turn means NO U turn also.
IM not sure hes right, but 600nt ticket was real.[/quote]
I’ve been stopped for that more than three times already. I refuse to take their ticket and have to explain to them the traffic rules each time. I used to keep a copy of the government’s test questions and answers in my phone and would show it to the dodgy officer. I was always let go after educating them however. A no left turn sign is not a no ‘U’ turn sign.
Considering the very low and very infrequent fines, plus the fact that English speakers are often just warned, why would anyone even consider doing a runner? It’s not like you can have a dead body below the scooter seat!