On the drive up, was going through one of the tunnels between Hualien and Dong Ao when suddenly an oncoming car appeared on my side of the road as it tried to overtake a truck on a blind curve. in a tunnel! This is not that uncommon, but as it was in a confined space, there was no where to go to avoid him. I really thought i was going to have a high speed head-on crash but somehow i and the truck driver were able to swerve just enough to allow this idiot to squeeze through. Driving back through this same tunnel it seemed almost impossible that we managed to fit three cars abreast in it - with one of them being a large truck. There must have only been millimetres to spare. If i wasn’t on such a tight schedule to get through before the road closed, i would have turned around, chased the guy and road-raged him.
Speed Camera Alert:
Got ‘got’ again by the same camera around th 44km mark on the no.11. What they have done is turn the camera around so if you are travelling north, it’s off to the left side of the road (they are normally always on the right), but photographing cars on the ride side heading north. That’s just not playing fair.
Next time, put ‘fucking idiot’, call it like it is. Once had the same on the Suhua, albeit outside a tunnel. Still, my sideways veer was constrained by a concrete culvert, and I could feel my wheels gripping the edge (or I think I could ). It is BEYOND REASON that those in government don’t make it simple to report these guys (with dashcam evidence) and get them off the roads.
'Scuse my language, had a road-rage incident on the way to school this a.m., guy jumped a place and cut me up badly and am still a little wired from that.
Unfortunately my model car doesn’t include dashcam, i wish it did, i am sure i would have an instant youtube hit on my hands, but either a dashcam or a bullbar might be a good addition. I do remember that the truck driver blasted his horn and i think this was to give me warning as he could see what was unfolding, and even though that was only a split second, it may have been the thing that saved my and the ‘fucking idiot’s’ life. Anyway, it made an impression on me. When you do have an accident, your mind can’t stop replaying the incident and trying to fiddle with events so things turn out differently. This feels like a ‘fiddled with’ bit that actually succeeded in becoming reality. So i am grateful for that.
I will say that the truck driving, in general, has improved on that road, though even as i write that i feel like it’s going to be proven wrong the next time i take the Su Hwa. But as a rule, i find there’s a lot less reckless cowboys and most of them are pretty courteous, pulling off to let you pass when there’s an opportunity - something that bus drivers never do.
Drove past the problem area at 116km the other day, between Suao and Dongao. That’s a huge face they’re trying to stabilize, and they’re nowhere near done. I imagine any heavy rain, and everyone just runs away for a day or two, then comes back to check out the damage.
I also see the new super-highway between Yilan and Hualien is taking shape, they’re building the foundations across the Heping estuary, and there are engineers working on the tunnel sections. The estimate is 8 years to completion - I’d like to see the route mapped out for this, does anyone have a link for me?
I’m moving from Taoyuan to Hualien on Monday and got concerned about the Suhua Hwy, especially after Trami. I just had my first experience calling the Information For Foreigners Hotline (0800-024-111) to get an update about any road closures. The staff worker was extremely friendly and helpful; she got my number and called back within 5 minutes with the information. So far, so good–Hwy 9 open.
In addition to the highway conditions number already listed in this thread (039-982-161) the foreigners hotline gave me this number: 1968. Yep, just four digits. Don’t know if it has English or not.
Due to coming typhoon, expect the Su Hwa to get closed on friday night or saturday (sep 20-21) - possibly for an extended period. In fact i suspect there are gonna be a bunch of roads out on the east coast this weekend.
Su Hwa is still open, just called to check. Though they did have 200mm of rain there overnight, so obviously it’s gonna be a bit dodgy. Will almost certainly be closed by tomorrow night and the road from Taidong to Kaohsiung would have to be a at risk too, so anyone planning to drive down here this weekend might get stuck here for a few days.
). It is BEYOND REASON that those in government don’t make it simple to report these guys (with dashcam evidence) and get them off the roads.