Job Discussion Forums

[atiff]

Taiwan road rules as explained to me when I first arrived:

1. Buses are like whales. Everyone makes way for whales.

2. Taxis are like sharks. They'll take anything they can get, and will take on anything except whales.

3. Scooters are like minnows, ducking and diving between the other vehicles at high speed.

4. Cars are the regular fish - but they usually brake for minnows.

5. Go with the flow.


After 3 years driving here, I follow two simple rules.
a) obey what the road rules are supposed to be (including being curteous, and having a valid licence)
b) always try to maintain a 2-second following distance with what's in front of you (I usually do this by driving 5kph slower than what's around me).

[sbettinson]

I remember reading in one of the free foreigner magazine publications about traffic lights in Taiwan:

RED - 2 more can go!!

AMBER - Speed up!!

GREEN - Go at your own risk!!

Funny but alarmingly true!

Shaun

[Ki]

The two second rule works great in theory but is far from practical here. Someone will always move into this space. Other riders and drivers will, more often than not, over-take and move in front of you with scarcely any space in between. Sometimes they force you to brake to avoid hitting them. Then quite often they will slow down to turn right.