Job Discussion Forums

[flapjack]

Over the past 5 years I have learned a lot.
1) NEVER ever be in a hurry. Especially in parking situations.
2) Yet in Taipei, once on the road drive between 40 and 60 KM per hour. This will keep things going smoothly.
3) When people honk at you from behind, don't get angry, basically they are trying to warn you that someone is coming up from behind.
4) Usually people are behind schedule because they are super busy and children make them late.
5) NEVER drink and drive. You will need every bit of wit you can muster to keep up with things. Most importantly you might KILL a person.
6) NEVER drive while under the influence of MEDICATION. Please,take the bus or Taxi until you have finished.
7) YELLOW LINE on the curb means- one person must stay in the car in case it needs to be moved.
8)RED LINE on the curb means- do not park- at all.
9) WHITE LINE means- parking is allowed.
10) If you break these rules your car might be towed and impounded, which cost about 2,300 NT to get out.

Ther's much more,
but this is ok for starters. Any questions?

[Toe Save]

11-20) Go with the flow.

[sbettinson]

Here is my input:

When your traffic light goes green, go with extreme caution because on a number of occasions, someone in their big lump of a car, bus etc decides they can make it through their red light in time. I almost got creamed a number of times.

Where there are small back streets or roads with intersections that are not busy and there are/aren't traffic lights, slow down to allow for people who can just come across in front of you. Even if they see you they will still do it, so be aware.

NEVER EVER EVER jump a light because you think you can make it! If it is going to red then stop. If you are driving at a fast pace this is going to be harder to manage!

The last one is for the sake of all that is good, holy and blessed in this world, buy a decent god damn helmet! I am sick of hearing the, "but it's too hot wearing a full faced helment in summer." If you are unlucky and get into an accident your head is going to be the most important part to protect. You can make ammends with a broken leg, arm, rib etc but a broken skull has more serious implications. Not to mention ruining those dashing facial features. A half decent helmet can cost you a few thousand NT. Small price to pay to protect your brain.

Shaun

[sbettinson]

Oh yeah,

one more addition. If you are thinking of driving stupidly or quickly through town please remember this the next time you do it:

How are your parents going to feel about organising the repatriation of your remains and the possibility of getting the horrid phonecall from someone who probably might not speak English as their first language?

[SanChong]

Great stuff.

I'd also add: Get a license! It's not that hard and makes things a lot easier on you. Most of us foreigners don't get a license.

Also: Get out of the city sometimes! Driving a scooter up into the mountains and on the coast is a really great experience. It's a totally different feeling getting out of the city and a lot of fun.

[BigWally]

Just be careful of the crazy drivers on the ever so skinny mountain roads....

[flapjack]

Great additions,
I thought of another one. When pulling out of a parking space or changing streets always look left then right, then a quick glance all around, then left and right again, you never know when someone will pop out from someplace you never expected. And I mean all around, you might not expect a scooter buzzing off the sidewalk at forty clicks per hour but it happens. I have almost been creamed by people running red lights, too.
And another one is ALWAYS look around before you open your car door to get in or out. I knew a guy (local) who didn't and got his door smashed by a scooter.

That being said, "Happy Motoring Toto" and remember you're not in Kansas anymore.

Let's see there's ESL, TEFL, TESOL, ESP, ....

[ghost]

The advice given is good. But one thing to remember is to keep your cool, because in Taiwan, unlike the Western countries we are from, the rules of the road appear to be interpreted differently than the way we are used to....classic example is when the Taiwanese veer straight accross the road at traffic lights, paying little heed to the people who are already in the process of crossing...

Ghost used a bicycle and a scooter during the 2005-2006 school year in Taiwan....but used the bicycle 90% of the time, biking a 16km route daily (round trip) from Ching Shueh (Taichung County) to Providence University (on the outskirts of Shalu, going up toward Taichung).......ghost was the only student (foreign or Taiwanese) who used a bike to get to and from University....and ironically was able to get from door to classroom quicker by using the bike compared with the bus.....where wait times for buses and bus stops make the journey longer (and more expensive). The only caveat was the sweat gained on the journey, but ghost always brought a fresh change of clothing in its backpack to change into, once arrived at the destination.

During the year, one of ghost`s classmates at Providence University, from Paraguay, (studying Mandarin, like ghost), lost his life on a scooter.....and a few other students had accidents on scooters...more or less serious.....really one got the impression that almost everyone one spoke to had had at least one accident.....or more, some serious, requiring being sent home.

Ghost found it exasperating on the bike, at times, because scooters would accelerate past giving precious little space....resulting in a lot of fist waving and invectives from ghost to unsuspecting Taiwanese scooter hogs....

But ghost always made sure to wear bright, reflective clothing, and had front and back lights installed on the bike.....

Ghost tried to encourage able bodied Taiwanese University students to use bicycles instead of scooters, but the usual response from the Taiwanese was ``bikes are for children```and ``too tiring```.....confirming the basic laziness ghost suspected...of the Taiwanese students.....the fact that pollution and danger were direct contributors of scooter riding, was not thought of....by the Taiwanese, much to ghost`s regret...and really there is no excuse. Even in Tokyo, ghost noticed that the Japanese students used the ordinary bicycle a lot more, compared with the citizens of Taiwan.

One particular stretch of road (a downhill section from Providence University to Shalu) was particularly stressful because of the volume of traffic (cars, buses and scooters) and the speed gained on the downhill......mostly ghost stuck to the white lines on the extreme right of the roads.....

Another trick, which ghost found useful was to use ``side roads`` (much lighter traffic) which went in the same direction as the Taichung to Dajia route...ghost found many of the side roads astonishingly light in traffic, and this diminished the stress from being on the main roads.

ghost

[Dr_Zoidberg]

It's always the times I forget to take my camera with me that I wish I had it. Just a few days ago was one such time. Why? Because what I'm about to describe will have far less impact than a picture of it would have had.

On Jongshan Road, just at the norhern outskirts of Cin Shuei, the police had half the road blocked off. As I rode by on my bicycle, I saw a scooter on its side in the middle of the road. Then I noticed an open-faced helmet lying nearby, the face scr