Taiwanese who cross the street without looking

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
1

Sorry if the subject line sounds discriminatory, but in all of my 8 years in Taiwan I have only seen TW people crossing the street without looking.

So last night it was raining and I decided to stay off the major highway becuase it is a zoo at the best of times, let alone in the rain. And I’ve been meaning to check out other ways of getting between schools anyway.

Big mistake.

As I said, it was raining and for some reason people seem to forget the rain adds an element of risk to driving, never mind walking, on most TW roads.

As I was driving in the scooter lane on this smallish minor artery, I noticed a guy crossing the street between the cars that were stopped in traffic. He was a few car lengths ahead of me and although he was looking my way, he failed to yield and I slowed to let him cross in front of me and get on the sidewalk. This was not at a crosswalk so he was jaywalking in the rain, at night, during rush hour. :bravo:

Just after that, as I was just getting up to a little higher but safe speed, a woman ( I think ) also crossed the road between the stopped cars and missed walking into my handlebars by a whisker. It was as if she didn’t even care that she was going to walk right into the side of my moving scooter. :no-no:

I even grimaced, ready for the impact, because I had no time to react. I have no idea how she missed me. She may have pulled back at the last nano-second I guess. If I would have hit her, my whole year would have been ruined. Never mind her injuries.

Can anyone tell me, without being cynically humorous, what is going through the minds of these people? The same thing almost happened to me in Chiayi several years ago. If not for some quick reflexes and luck at at that time, I would have mowed into a small family that walked into the scooter lane and then froze with fear when they realised that there were actually scooters in the scooter lane.

In all of my years in Taiwan, I have never figured out how or why these people figure they are invincible, and that everyone can safely stop for their selfish acts. Sure this happens with scooters and cars all the time, cutting in front of moving traffic, forcing it to stop or just missing a collision while doing so.

But pedestrians walking in front of moving traffic has always baffled me. I think I will stick to the major highways whenever possible from now on. :sunglasses:

Although it is always dangerous, I rarely see jaywalkers trying to dodge four-lane traffic on a rainy night during rush hour. :pray:

2

Everybody in Taiwan hopes that the other person stops. Never noticed that people on scooters do right turns out of small alleys on high speed without looking to the left? I don’t get especially with 3 children on a scooter. Same goes for people with little kids on the front seats, what happens if they ever have to make a full stop suddenly? The kid will break its neck in the windscreen… they are so fucking irresponsible, it makes me angry!

3

Does seem to be the land of the near-miss. Everyday, all-day. The amount of times I’ve jumped up and down shouting OMG OMG, that person is going to die!! But it’s a near-miss! :discodance:

4

Well, you can’t help stupidity. Better to let 'em die off anyway.

Problem is when they take out an ‘innocent’ as well.

5

Hit them long and hard with the horn and snarl. I know it doesn’t do anything, but it does provide me with a few moments of pleasure.

6

I think it’s a mix of Antarctic penguin and hairtrigger reflexes.

7

I believe it’s called natural selection. Taiwanese people use cars and scooters to accelerate the process.

8

Well most people here are locals but there are many Asians here who might look to be locals who are not, you never can tell really.

There was that poor English expat teacher who got killed when he ran through a red light intersection and got hit by a taxi. Lots of people are careless sometimes about looking where they are going.

9

As if it works that way. Especially in such an artificial society as this.
I for one can’t wait to watch the doomsday footage from the safety of my heavily fortified compound. A couple of hello kitty motherships should be enough to carry the day.

10

I’m somehow struck by this and don’t really know what it means. Care to elaborate on it? Sounds interesting.

11

Its OK…this stuff is covered by the Bai-Bai burning and smoke filled mumbling at the local Temple.

That makes it all OK.

12

Taiwanese friends and students have told me that they’re actually taught this in driver’s ed. Not sure if they really are taught that, mind you, given how often my students seem to misremember or misunderstand something I’ve tried to teach them. Of course, that could say more about my teaching than it does about them. :ponder:

What’s amusing is how everyone DOES stop and look at crosswalks - because everyone knows that those are truly dangerous places to cross the street?

13

hmm … sounds like bollocks to me. I mean the part about attending driver’s ed.

But yeah, I have also heard people tell me (and gf’s yell at me) that you shouldn’t look behind you or to your left (when pulling out) “because you’ll have an accident” :loco:

I can also identify with Mike’s comment about not being allowed to know anything outside of your major. In my spare time, I bumble about growing things, which is (was) treated with great scorn by the ex because I’m an engineer and don’t know anything about that sort of thing. :unamused:

14

I don’t understand how there are so many old people here. How did they make it this far?
I mean seriously.
I see folks walking into the street, into traffic - especially old people. If I pulled off some of the stunts they do, I wouldn’t last five minutes.

15

[quote=“finley”]
In my spare time, I bumble about growing things, which is (was) treated with great scorn by the ex because I’m an engineer and don’t know anything about that sort of thing. :unamused:[/quote]

Oh, that is strange, many Taiwanese I have met are fascinated that I am interested in so many things, even though they have few interests themselves. I have found many of my Spanish paisanos have this attitude though, like why the hell would you do that!? I recall I volunteered to run a Spanish language meeting once at university in the US and a teacher from Spain attended as well, anyway, she was talking about how one of her students was double majoring in Mathematics and Spanish Literature, she couldn’t understand why and she seemed very angry about it :loco:

16

[quote=“Super Hans”]I don’t understand how there are so many old people here. How did they make it this far?
I mean seriously.
I see folks walking into the street, into traffic - especially old people. If I pulled off some of the stunts they do, I wouldn’t last five minutes.[/quote]

Well, where I live,I see a lot of them hobbling about. And as for the poor dogs.

17

[quote=“photi”][quote=“finley”]
In my spare time, I bumble about growing things, which is (was) treated with great scorn by the ex because I’m an engineer and don’t know anything about that sort of thing. :unamused:[/quote]

Oh, that is strange, many Taiwanese I have met are fascinated that I am interested in so many things, even though they have few interests themselves. I have found many of my Spanish paisanos have this attitude though, like why the hell would you do that!? I recall I volunteered to run a Spanish language meeting once at university in the US and a teacher from Spain attended as well, anyway, she was talking about how one of her students was double majoring in Mathematics and Spanish Literature, she couldn’t understand why and she seemed very angry about it :loco:[/quote]

third world country thinking at it’s best. Know your place and stay there, don’t ever try to think out of your place, you could end up a criminal. and besides we have politicians/dictators to do the thinking for you.

18

[quote=“Super Hans”]I don’t understand how there are so many old people here. How did they make it this far?
I mean seriously.
I see folks walking into the street, into traffic - especially old people. If I pulled off some of the stunts they do, I wouldn’t last five minutes.[/quote]
I figure it’s because Taiwanese drivers expect people to step/pull out in front of them and are prepared. This is why they believe you should always look forward. If you are checking sideways or backwards, you won’t see the person stepping/pulling out in front of you.

19

Very possibly, and I suppose it works in theory and most of the time in practise. Most of the time.

I don’t think people criticise so much as to make observations, and these observations are made because most actions directly affect ones life in Taiwan. Some observations are made because some actions may actually affect one’s life to the extent that they become dead.
There’s nothing wrong with a bit of thinking. Some of the greatest minds on earth were thinkers.

20

Taiwanese love to play chicken…especially the gramps.