發信人: dextor.bbs@******** (圓滾滾的摩羯男), 看板: Motorcycle
標 題: 一個外國人對台灣交通的印象(說的很貼切...)
發信站: 交大資科_BBS (Sun Jun 9 16:44:49 2002)
轉信站: SCUMOTOR!news.ntu!freebsd.ntu!news.cis.nctu!cis_nctu
很多年前的文章了,但是我覺得他說的情形和現在基本上是差不多的,
文章很長,看的人要有耐心
In another thread Dick Brewster <dbrewste@********> asked:
o How about a report on motorcycles and scooters in Taiwan?
o I was there for a few days last month and was amazed at the
o numbers of scooters in the citys. The 150 cc limit, pseudo cruisers,
o unusual brand names, distinctive riding styles and police crackdowns
o on groups of over hundreds of riders should make interesting (at least
o different) reading. I did see several Mobil 1 adds and billboards,
o but no Spamsoil adds.
o gan bei
ObRecMotoFlame: Gan bei?? Gan bei?!!!! That means bottoms up! A fine toast
for drinking, but a bit out of place here, eh?
Taiwan is an island about the size of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
Two-thirds of it is *steep* mountain, and the rest contains a population
about 90% the size of Canada's. The net result is the world's highest
population density (or perhaps it's second to that of Bangladesh).
The streets are swarming with motorcycles and scooters -- about two-thirds
of the motor vehicles here have two wheels. An interesting consequence of
this is that there is no social stigma to riding a motorcycle -- everyone
does it.
As Dick mentioned, there is a 150cc displacement limit (the highway patrol
rides beemers and a few Harleys, but the city police ride 150cc Hondas).
This pissed me off when I first arrived here, but after seeing how they
drive, I'm convinced that it was a wise decision by the government. The
drivers (car, truck, bus, bike...) are totally thoughtless, totally
unskilled. They have absolutely no concept of right-of-way and zero lane
discipline. They can't judge distance, speed, or time. If there is a wrong
decision to be made, they will make it. A cat has more traffic sense than
the typical Taiwanese.
Don't get me wrong -- I like the Taiwanese people very much. They are
sweet, kind, intelligent, hospitable, patient, hardworking, practical, and
forgiving. Some of the nicest people I've ever met. BUT -- when they get on
wheels their brains turn to shit.
They are not competitive or confrontational drivers -- there is little horn
honking and no shouting or fist waving (well, I do that, but they don't)--
they just don't give a flying fuck about each other, and will do anything
they want, whenever they want, without the slightest consideration of the
consequences of their actions. They consider traffic lights, signs, and
lines on the road to be mere suggestions. The mountains are full of
wonderful twisties, but the drivers think that blind corners are the place
to pass. They WILL NOT wait for a place where they can see what's coming.
The police, when they are around, just stand by with their thumbs up their
bums and do nothing. To give him credit, the new mayor of Taipei IS doing
something about the traffic, but it will take a long time. It is still an
everyday experience to see people drive through a red light at an
intersection where a cop is directing traffic -- and the thumb still stays
in the bum.
It's a GREAT place to hone your survival skills!
On the up side, they're not into drinking alcohol much, and there are few
drunk drivers here.
The law requires that motorcycles be parked on the sidewalk, and people get
to their parking spot by riding on the sidewalks. They ride at high speed.
They expect pedestrians to get out of their way. The sidewalks are so full
of motorcycles that pedestrians often have to walk in the street. Of
course, drivers don't give the pedestrians any room. In the three years
I've been here, I've been clipped by cars and bikes more than a hundred
times. I discovered that if I tense my arm muscles, I can shatter their
mirrors. They don't stop.
Helmets are mandatory, but only about 1% of the riders wear them. Of those
that do wear them, only about half do up the strap. Of the ones that do up
the strap, about half have them so loose that they can put-on and remove
the helmet without unbuckling. Nobody wears protective clothing -- can't
buy it if you want to. Not even a pair of leather work gloves. The typical
rider wears rubber beach floppies -- though I've seen many riding barefoot.
The most common ride is a 125cc step-through scooter with an automatic
transmission. Second in popularity are 125cc standard motorcycles (I ride a
cb125), and there are a few sport bikes, such as rz125, ninja 150, and some
interesting 150cc v-twins of various marques. There are *lots* of
two-strokers, which makes for very unpleasant breathing.
A recent addition to the line up is a variety of micro-cruisers: 150cc
air-cooled single-cylinder four-strokers with a stretched frame, laid-back
riding position, lots and lots and lots and lots of chrome, and a FAKE
RADIATOR. It's a laugh to see the tough guys and rich-men's sons riding
these wearing studded fashion leather and a boy-I'm-tough expression.
A Honda (well, a Sanyang -- a Taiwanese manufactured Honda) cb125 cost me
about US$1200. One of the fancy micro-cruisers or v-twin sport bikes runs
about four or five times that. Honda's are available as Honda, Sanyang, Fu
Sheng, Kwan Yang, and a couple other labels I forget. All the Japanese
brands are available, and I've seen some Vespas.
The bikes usually come from the factory with sayings on them in strange
English. My favorite is: We reach for the stars, neither does civilization.
There is only one gasoline company -- the government. Because there's no
competition, there?s no need to have flashy gas stations. I was here for a
few months before I knew where people bought gas.
In the third world, motorcycles are family vehicles. It's common to see:
dad driving, smoking a cigarette
mom behind him with a baby on her back and an open umbrella in her hand
two children standing on the floor boards or straddling the tank
another kid between mom and dad
a week's-worth of groceries crammed in here and there
and the family dog (or two)
Now remember, this is all on 125cc...or less.
Motorcycles are also used for delivery. I've seen refrigerators and stoves
on the back of a 125cc bike. Taiwan cooks and heats water with propane, and
the tanks (30 pound??) are delivered by motorcycle. They put a rack on the
back then stack three tanks on their sides and hang another two from hooks.
They usually don't tie them down. Then they go bombing through traffic with
all the driving skills of a hairbrush. The majority of the delivery bikes
are 125cc two-stroke Suzikis.
The mail is delivered by motorcycle. All the posties wear green uniforms
and drive green single-seat cb125s. They ride door-to-door on the sidewalk.
Using your hands has super-low status. Virtually nobody does their own
maintenance -- I get strange looks when I'm working on my bike. In general,
people don't take care of their vehicles here. It's common to see chains
and fork tubes red with rust. If you want to take your bike to a shop to
have it worked on, you can choose between shops where they use a visegrip
for everything and shops where they use the *right size* of vise grip for
everything.
Gas stations ain't got no air. The only place you can get it is from a
mechanic, but they all use unregulated air lines. The drill goes like this.
He puts some air in, squeezes the tire and says "yup, that's it". You put
your gauge to it (note the 'YOUR' -- he *does not* have a gauge) and
measure 5000000 psi. You bleed some air out and check -- 12 psi. He pumps
in more air, squeezes the tire and says "yup, that's it", you check it --
5000000000000000 psi. You bleed some air out and check -- 8 psi. He
pumps.....
I don't know what the minimum age is to get a bike license, but I've seen
kids who couldn't be over 12 riding. The test for a bike license consists
of a written test (I didn't have to take that, because I already had a
Taiwanese automobile license) and a single 30 second trip around an oval
path with three stoplights. When I took the test, the lights didn't work.
Traffic is CONGESTED. Lane splitting? What's a lane? Filtering is the name
of the game. Buses and cabs cut you off five times a minute -- they'll run
you right off the road if you don't make way for them. The people on
scooters swerve around potholes without checking their mirrors (which
they've probably removed anyway) or shoulder checking. I may be the only
person in Taiwan who shoulder checks. It is completely normal for someone
to pull up beside you and then move into the space you are in. They expect
you to just move out of the way. I don't. This surprises the shit out of
them. The problem with just moving out of the way, is that there is
probably someone on your other side about to pass at high speed with an
inch of clearance. When they pass you, they will pull back into your lane
as soon as their *body* has passed your body. They forget about your
vehicle and theirs. Their idea of merging into cross-street traffic is to
close their eyes and wick it.
Do Taiwanese drive on the left or the right? Yes.
Double parking is normal. Triple parking is considered a sign of
sophistication. Blocking the entire road makes you a social leader. Doing
this during rush hour qualifies you for political office.
They put red filters on their headlights and remove the red filters from
their taillights, then drive on the wrong side of the road at night. They
connect all their lights together with flashers, so you can't tell if they
are signaling a turn, stopping, or just riding along. They ride without
lights at night to save gas.
People will not make way for firetrucks or ambulances.
The police set up roadblocks and stop riders on scooters (for some reason
they don't stop people on regular motorcycles much). They search the
storage compartments for contraband and check the ID and license of the
rider. The only problem is, they put the roadblocks in the same place at
the same time each day, so anyone with contraband just takes a different
route. The cops who do this are always armed. There will be a couple guys
with assault rifles -- in their hands, not slung on their backs. They will
be standing a couple feet apart, on guard, and motorcycles will be zipping
between them at high speed. The cops don't get much respect here (_see_
thumbs).
I've heard of large groups of kids getting together and racing. The cops
try and bust them. Big fuss. Kids get hurt. Cops get hurt. I haven't seen
this with my own eyes, but then I don't hang out with young kids.
All I have to do is survive Taiwanese traffic for one more month, and then
I'm home to Canada. I'll have to buy a bike when I get there. What a
terrible thing to look forward to... 8^)
David
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