worst scooter riders (slow driving in the car lane, swerving in and out of the car lane…etc)
incompetent law enforcement (or lack thereof)
parking space
pedestrian space (sidewalks)
It’s easy to generalize and say that all of Taiwan is just as bad when it comes to driving…but whenever I drive up to Taipei, I always notice that road users there are a little more ‘on the ball’ than here in Taichung. I haven’t driven in Kaohsiung so I can’t comment on the drivers there…
So, let’s see if we can get everyone’s opinion on this…
Taipei’s OK for driving. Don’t have any problems generally. Elsewhere? Like out in the boonies with the Benz-driving water buffalo herders? Lock and load, baby! I’m off down to Hualien next weekend. The baseball bat will be stowed under the seat.
Off the top of my head I’d say Pingtung. Very few streets have even a ‘chi lou’ to block with breakfast places or motorcycle shops. After about 8pm there are no cops around so everyone just parks wherever. Most of the population seems to be knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing inbreds and they drive accordingly. Beware those 20-year Yulongs… they never have any insurance.
Agree that Taipei drivers are a bit more clued-in. Maybe they’ve been fined enough to behave, or spent enough on crash repairs that it’s sunk in. Taoyuan / Chung_li drivers are mostly wannabe thugs but they at least seem to be awake. Taichung doesn’t tow enough cars to teach people not to park as they like and everyone seems to drive like they’re on Demerol. Changhua is even worse… probably the pollution has melted their brains. Tainan has a very nasty street-racer (ricer) faction… nasty bastards. Kaohsiung is IMO not far behind Taipei. Lots of sidewalk space and serious tow crews / meter maids. Hualien used to be very relaxed and slow-paced, people actually stopping at red lights etc., but I haven’t been through there in a while. Taidong seems to be trying to wrestle the bottom spot from Pingtung and win the Ah Huang Award, but doesn’t quite have the population to pull it off… A for attitude however.
A close competition between Kaoshiung/Pingdong and Taipei.
I drive in both Taipei and Taichung quite a lot and Taipei might have better enforcement of traffic laws but as an overall experience driving is hell. The roads are too small, there is too much traffic, there is constant construction and even major arteries are almost beyond repair. Taxi drivers and scooters in Taipei are all fucking insane. Parking is impossible in the busier areas, which is most of Taipei.
As far as enforcement goes in Taipei vs Taichung, it’s really limited to speeding, parking and running red lights - i.e. stuff that can be easily and profitably dealt with by cameras. Just as many drivers (especially taxis) cut in, swerve randomly, stop dead while thinking about routes etc. There is a romantic idea that Taipei police are miles ahead of the rest of Taiwan, but I don’t honestly see much difference.
I’ve generally found JiaYi and MaioLi the worst. Pingtung is okay compared to that shite. At least in Pingtung there is a consistent method to their madness.
I’d say Tainan has the worst traffic. Over there, I have to look left and right at least twice every time I cross the intersection even when the light is green, other cities just once …horn is a must there
As always, Redwagon is spot on in his analysis. But seems to me the further north you go, the more you get the “fuck you - me first” mentality, while the further south you go, the more likely you are to encounter drivers who haven’t even got the basics down (as in can’t even drive in a straight line).
But for alcohol-fueled stupidity and ass-clenchingly dangerous maneuvers, nothing quite beats the mountain roads and aboriginal villages of Nantou County.
I’d rank Taipei as worst, just because I’ve seen so many amusing accidents there (scooters taking shortcuts under buses are my absolute fave, but a car parked upside down in a shop comes a close second.)
[quote=“monkey”]As always, Redwagon is spot on in his analysis. But seems to me the further north you go, the more you get the “fuck you - me first” mentality, while the further south you go, the more likely you are to encounter drivers who haven’t even got the basics down (as in can’t even drive in a straight line).
But for alcohol-fueled stupidity and ass-clenchingly dangerous maneuvers, nothing quite beats the mountain roads and aboriginal villages of Nantou County.
I’d rank Taipei as worst, just because I’ve seen so many amusing accidents there (scooters taking shortcuts under buses are my absolute fave, but a car parked upside down in a shop comes a close second.)[/quote]
You could be right about the nantou county drivers…I was almost killed by a local mouth-breathing buffalo herder there a few years back!
Come to Taichung… we have the perfect balance between the two!
It is kind of interesting how things change though. 20 years ago I was horrified with how crazy and cut-throat Taipei drivers were… Taichung by comparison had far less traffic and it was much better behaved. Now it seems to be the other way around. Taichung drivers are now far more likely to flaunt the law and, since we have sod-all public transport, traffic density has skyrocketed whereas Taipei I think reached a plateau around the time the MRT opened, and maybe even dropped a little.
Remember a few years back when a besotted gentlemen was arrested in that area at 3am for having sexual relations with a goose in his car…You may be right about Chiayi.
Jaiyi. Anything goes. The worst is involuntarily playing chicken with the idiots driving the wrong way. The only thing the coppers seem to care about is people making a right turn on red.
That’s not true. The cops also care if you’re riding without a helmet.
But only if you’re the driver. If your girlfriend is riding piggyback without a helmet, the cops don’t care. Heck, if you’ve got your four-year-old kid up front and your baby strapped on your back, without helmets, no one blinks an eye, either.
