Driving in Taiwan

Something Fishy

"You know, I think I've come to accept driving in Taiwan" I said one day. "It's really just like being a fish in the ocean" I continued, getting more excited about what I thought was an extremely apt analogy. "The fish have no traffic rules, no swimming lessons, no highway patrol. They swim here they swim there. If they want to pass they pass. I doesn't matter what lane they're in. They don't care if someone makes a left turn in front of them and, except being eaten by other fish, there are no collisions and certainly no road rage. They just keep swimming, swimming swimming". By this time my hands were "swimming" around in the air and I started moving on to my next analogy. "It's just like a choreographed ballet..."

"Put your hands back on the wheel" Anting said.

"Sorry". I put my hands back on the wheel and remembered that, hey, I really was in the most dangerous driving locale I had ever experienced. Just then a scooter pulled out of the lane on my right without stopping (or looking) I had to slam on the brakes to avoid her. "Shit! Why do they do that? Why do they never look. One day I'm not going to be able to stop, and run one of them over".

"They don't look because if they look, then for sure there'll be an accident"

"What? What kind of logic is that?"

Road Rage

I guess haven't quite yet adjusted to driving in Taiwan. Sometimes, I can rationalize that people drive like lunatics here because this is a small island with a huge population and you have to drive aggressively to make any progress whatsoever. Most times, however, my frustration and rage grows with each infraction I witness (and let me tell you, they are plentiful). It just goes against every grain in my being to witness and be subject to these common occurrences:

turning right from the left lane;

turning left from the right lane;

passing a left turning car on the left;

passing a right turning car on the right;

scooters snaking through traffic on both sides of your car;

driving the wrong way down one way roads;

driving in the oncoming lane;

going through really stale red lights;

u-turns at anytime and anyplace;

cutting into long lines at the highway entrance right at the on-ramp.

double and triple parking; and my personal favourite

oncoming left turners always turning in front of us going straight drivers.

What I can't understand, however, is how there can be, with so many traffic infractions, so few incidents of road rage. Everyone seems to just calmly keep driving as if nothing happened even though their fellow driver just cut them off, did a u-turn in front of them, or just missed them after going through a red light. If any of these things happened in Canada wouldn't a chase ensue followed by an actual accident, yelling match or even physical violence? Haven't people been shot in Los Angeles for less? "Why is there so little road rage in Taiwan anyway?" I asked.

Culture Shock

"Because they know they do the same thing. At one time or another they'll want to do something crazy so they don't care" Anting answered, but still did not comfort this feeling of incongruity I was having.

"But most people are so polite, never wanting to offend anyone, never wanting to be selfish and ask for what they want. How come when driving, or lining up for the train or bus, or walking around they can be so rude and selfish?"

"Don't ask why".

But, here in Taiwan the concepts of personal space or first come first serve do not seem to be ingrained in the population. I guess when you have 25 million people living in a place the size of Vancouver Island these concepts seem luxurious. Part of adapting to living here has been getting used to the driving techniques, being constantly pushed or "cut off" when lining up for the train, and generally having people inside my personal space. It is quite hard, if not impossible, to get used to, and I constantly have to resist the urge to elbow some old lady who just pushed me out of the way (At the MRT stations they actually have painted lines on the floor to train people how to line up). It is a fact in Taiwan, however, that one must come to terms with. If you are from "the West" you will likely feel irritated by people in your "space", whether it be driving or walking.

The Accidents

You have to have a certain measure of skill to drive here as anything can happen at any time. You must be extra vigilant to avoid cars and scooters coming at you from every direction. Nobody seems to care what is beside them or behind them. Just look out the front, find the opening and seize the opportunity.

One thing you cannot do is try to enforce your rights. If I were to not stop for people cutting into my lane, turning left in front of me or these hundreds of scooters buzzing around me, I would have a kill at every block. Believe me, I have to fight every natural impulse I have to avoid "enforcing my rights", but instead I really try to get into a more zen-like forgiveness state. It hardly ever works however, and I usually drive around cursing and yelling "WHY?WHY?WHY?"

Even though everyone drives like a maniac, along with not many road rage incidents, there also does not seem to be a proportionately high amount of accidents. Having said that, however, we have witnessed a few. The seemingly most typical accident I witnessed involved a car coming out of an alley, not stopping and running into a scooter driving down the wrong side of the road. luckily no one was hurt, but both parties seemed to receive their just desserts for their idiotic driving.

On another occasion we were driving home late after a day long session of Majiang. Anting was driving in the left lane. As we approached our home a silver Accord passed us on the left (in the oncoming lane) at an unbelievable speed. I didn't think much of it until it seemed to be taking a fast left hand turn a few blocks ahead of us. What happened is that the guy swerved around a car stopped at a red light and then lost control. He first swerved right around the parked car, lost control, banked left into the oncoming traffic, and smashed head on into a van. It was quite frightening to see, especially considering the speed the Accord was traveling. We arrived on the scene seconds after the collision and the police a few minutes later. Fortunately the only one hurt was the driver of the Accord--again some justice.

The police

With the exception of not being able to turn right on a red light, the traffic rules are essentially the same as in BC. I often wonder why the police do not enforce the laws here. Admittedly, they would all get carpal tunnel syndrome writing tickets in the first few years while everyone got used to the enforcement, but it certainly would be a cash cow for the government. Unfortunately the police do not enforce traffic rules in the city and only occasionally on the highway. Perhaps this is because if everybody started following the traffic rules the entire island would be in gridlock. Who knows?

This does remind me however, of my daily laugh when I approach the intersection at the train station on my way to school. Before reaching this intersection, there is a driveway into the parking lot of the mall. Employed there is a parking attendant who takes his job very seriously. He will blow on his whistle, wave his neon wand, stop, and direct traffic with complete diligence. There is absolute order at this parking lot entrance.

Arriving at this intersection at the train station, however is a different story. There are absolutely no traffic control devices, no traffic lights, no traffic signs and no painting on the roadway. There is no 4 way stop rule at this intersection, nor is it first come first serve. You basically have to close your eyes, go through at a steady speed, and hope the others will stop.

Every day I see the same police officer standing on the corner. But he doesn't do what you would expect a police officer would do confronted with such complete chaos--direct traffic. Instead, he just stands there, like he's observing an experiment, doing absolutely nothing. It is just so funny to first come across the parking attendant, at his relatively tame parking lot entrance, directing traffic like an air traffic controller, half a block away from this police officer standing on the side of this dangerous, uncontrolled and chaotic intersection doing absolutely nothing.

Well, I guess I have ranted (and rambled) on enough. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest (It may save a few lives).

It is safe to say that driving in Taiwan can sometimes be dangerous and very often frustrating for a westerner, but, at the same time, provides an excellent method to hone those defensive driving skills.