The drivers are not really insane here
The traffic in Taipei is incredible. They are not insane, they just drive by different rules here. You have your space, and people just don't invade it. Mostly.There are 2.6 million people in Taipei, and 1 million small motorcycles. The motorcycles drive wherever they want, between cars, zipping in front of buses, on the sidewalk. Just behind the crosswalks are motorcycle zones, where cars are not allowed to stop. At the stop lights the cycles will be packed in their space, between cars and on the side walk, and a small army of them takes off when the light turns green. Even in the rain -- they have foot length ponchos.
I told my host mom there are no cycles in Seattle and she said "I love Seattle!"
The zipping in front of buses is what the cars do also! People just let them in. And if you want to go around someone, you can cross the yellow line. If you want the other lane, you just take it. If you are in 1 of 2 left turning lanes and you want the other one, you can just take it in the middle of the intersection. It is better to just look off to the side and try to figure out the Chinese characters on the signs than to look at the traffic and hope you survive.
The lane markings on the street are there, and painted well, they are just ignored. I was arguing with my fellow tourists about whether the lane markings are guidelines or mere suggestions, when our host walked by and said "They are just decorations!" Just think of how many more cars you can fit on the street if you ignore the lanes!
The term "Parking Space" is very losely defined. If you want to stop your car in a driving lane, you just do it. After all, you can fit 2 cars in the 1 1/2 lanes left! (And a cycle or two, maybe!) People will go around you and Not Honk Their Horn. Parking in the street is not a Horn Honking Offense. Neither is cutting someone off. Neither is coming to a stop in the middle of the street when the light has turned and you are in danger of causing gridlock. People just drive around you.
I am not driving in Taipei.
I am not driving anywhere in Taiwan.
When we were in the mountains, on the twisty turny lanes you get there, people drove the same way! There are mirrors on the corners so you can see who is coming, since people would ignore the no passing lane markings even if you did take the time to paint them on.
The one thing I wish we had is the pedestrian crosswalk signs: they tell you how many seconds you have left to get out of the street.
posted by Marion @ 9:40 AM
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