Job Discussion Forums

[aaron in halifax]

hello all,
I'm a Canadian who'll be arriving in tainan city march 8th- got my visa squared away, a few cv's mailed out, buddies in town I can crash with, a tesl cert, and even a few bucks squirreled away- I've just overlooked one thing. I haven't got a drivers licence and it will take much longer than three weeks for me to get one here (nova scotia, canada) My question is this: what do I have to do and how long will it take me to get a scooter licence in taiwan, tainan city?? is it something I have to wait for my ARC to go through before I can apply?? can I expect to get away with driving without one, given all the talk I've seen here about ROC law enforcement often being a study in disorganisation ??
Thanks in advance, Aaron

[TaoyuanSteve]

This is up to you , but many people here do without scooter licenses. This is especially true outside of Taipei. Police will avoid you like the bubonic plague. It's not very hard if you want one, on the other hand.

[aaron in halifax]

[TaoyuanSteve]

It means exactly that. Most foreigners I know don't have Taiwanese licenses for their scooters. This is seldom a problem. Police will not bother you. They will avoid you when they see you are foreign. The police mostly do not speak English and don't want the hassle of dealing with foreigners. They will wave you through.

[clark.w.griswald]

I tend to agree with Taoyuan Steve for places out of major centers. Even though Tainan is a big city, in many respects it still qualifies as it has a rather small town mentality.

The situation in places like Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung seems to be changing however, and more and more police are either speaking English, or expecting foreigners to speak Chinese. Of course if you are in trouble and don�t speak a word of Chinese then they can always call in the English speaking foreign affairs police.

Historically, the police have either just waved foreigners off once they realized who they had pulled over, or given up after being hit with the �I�m sorry I don�t speak Chinese� bit. I used to do this a while ago until an older cop in his forties replied, �That�s OK. I speak English.� He reprimanded me severely (for riding in the no motorcycle inner lanes) but let me off without a fine as I pointed out that the double and triple parked vehicles forced me around into that lane.

There was some talk on forumosa.com just last month that police were in fact targeting foreigners as they knew that the many of them didn�t have licenses and that the police could then fine them NTD6,000 for not having a license, on top of any other fine for misdoing. Most interesting in that discussion was the fact that it was reported that the police have the authority to confiscate your license plates, and that this forced one hapless foreigner to wheel his bike home. The plates being returned once you pay the fine and produce your license. While I don�t necessarily agree that the police are targeting foreigners, it wouldn�t surprise me if certain officers who happen to speak Chinese did do this. Afterall, a junior officer in this situation could be promoted rather quickly for all the citations he would be issuing. I am sure that it is just a matter of time.

I would think though that the biggest disadvantage to riding unlicensed would be realized in an accident. It would prove somewhat more difficult to receive a fair hearing if in fact you didn�t have a license in the first place, and you can be sure that the at fault driver would try to use this as an excuse not to pay you, or reduce the payment to you for any damages or injuries caused.

On the flip side, getting a license is quick, cheap, and easy � in Taipei anyway. There has been talk about this on the �Vroom Vroom� forum over at forumosa.com so you could check that out for the test details. I now have a car and motorcycle license and feel much better that I have them. I would recommend that you get a license, but as you have pointed out, you would need to wait for your ARC to get this as you don�t qualify for an international driving permit.

[DirtGuy]

What about riding a 150 cc motorcylc vs. riding a scooter? Is there any difference in the required license.

Also, the price of motorcycles seems to shoot up for anything bigger than a 150 cc. bike. Is this my imagination or what?

Thanks.

[matchstick_man]

Fir anything above 50cc there is a practical test as well as the multi-choice test. The multi-choice test apparently varies from place to place. The difficult part is the hand signal questions.

There is a sample test on the net which I'm told is exactly the same as the multi-choice test in Taipei and Taipei county. I sat mine in Ilan and it took four times before I passed. I'd been riding a 90cc scooter for nearly a year before that. Most foreigners don't get the licence till after they've had a scooter for a while. The licence needs to be renewed in conjunction with your ARC or it expires and you need to sit the test again.

What TS said is correct however recently the police have been getting stricter on foreigners. However if you obey the road rules..the odds are you won't be pulled up at all. Most get pulled over for not wearing hlemets.

[Aristotle]

Get an international drivers license or permit.
Some senior bureaucrat at the Department of Motor Vehicles on Taiwan decided last year that international drivers licenses were no longer valid on Taiwan despite the fact that the Republic of China authored, signed and then ratified the international covenant pertaining recognizing international drivers permits.
(United Nations conventions on road safety in 1923, 1943, 1949, and 1968)
Senior civil servants regularly circumvent the laws passed by the elected government of the Republic of China on Taiwan and make decrees that almost always curtail rights and freedoms of foreigners on Taiwan granted by the elected legislature or the constitution of the Republic of China.
Welcome to Taiwan
If you get pulled over with an international drivers license the police will usually let you go with a warning. If you get a ticket for driving without a license get a copy of the law and the treaty then take it to the judge. If the judge foolishly rules that your international drivers license or permit is not recognized, appeal it.
Good luck,
A.

[matchstick_man]

Be careful with what Aristotle said/says. In Taiwan an international licence is actually only officially recognised for a month. I've had trouble renting motorcycles on the East Coast at times as often people can't read English.

[clark.w.griswald]

Aristotle - Do you even read posts before you reply? The guy already stated that he doesn't have a licence back home and that he has no intention of getting one due to the wait. Without a drivers licence back home it would be impossible to obtain an international drivers licence. Your advice is getting less and less useful each post you make.

Matchstick man is right to warn others of taking Aristotles advice on this. I don't see any advantage to an international drivers permit. It is actually cheaper to get a licence here than getting an international permit from back home anyway. Add to that the fact that you are not even legal after the first month, although I believe you can get the permit verified here somehow. Finally, not all police may recognize the permit as being a licence or legal here in Taiwan. Yes, maybe you could appeal, but is it really worth the trouble.

A basic bike licence enables you to ride anything up to a 150cc, scooter or motorbike. Anything above that is classified as a heavy bike. These only became legal Taiwans roads recently and therefore the licencing is different. The costs are pretty well prohibitive unless you are really sure you need a heavier bike. I would say go for a scooter until you get a feel for the roads here, and then go up from there if you want.