Nine fatal car accidents in this month already

So extrapolating a bit, that's 80 people dead every year JUST in Taipei city (1/10th of the population), so perhaps 800 deaths across the entire country. Plus, of course, several thousand serious but non-fatal injuries which don't even merit a brief mention. If Taiwan were responsible for three 747 plane crashes every year (ie., the same number of fatalities) their aircraft would be banned from international airspace. So why is this level of carnage acceptable on the roads? Come ON, people, if you insist on still using cars in the 21st century, at least implement a proper driving test, enforce traffic regulations, and train police officers in exactly what those regulations are.

At the cross section or pedestrian lane, some of local Taiwanese people would prefer stand on the road. Instead of standing on top of the sidewalk, majority of the car drivers would stop at the corner of the street to allow pedestrians to walk first. Beside, scooter drivers would increase speed when they saw Yellow signal light, instead of slowing down. It's kind of stupid (pardon for saying this). No wonder why more people die on the street.

Hi I am a mother of 2 living in Tien mu and everyday I walk home with my daughter to and from school and I cross several busy junctions and very rarely does a driver let us cross on a zebra crossing displaying the green man .On several occasions I have had to act as a human shield for my children as drivers speed through red lights. If looks could kill, I would have killed thousands by now. I tell all my family and friends the annoyance I have to endure everyday living in Taipei. I have resorted into carrying an umbrella to warn and whack drivers who come to close or try to run us over!!! Taipei needs stricter driving tests and to retest the rest of the population as you may find that many cannot see over the bonnet, not aware of when to use their signals and a red light does not mean speed up and drive through it. Roads are not for untested scooter riders to practice on either. Taipei has many INCONSIDERATE and SELFISH individual beings. If they lived in a European country, they would most definitely find themselves with 2 black eyes or behind bars. You know who you are SELFISH and INCONSIDERATE beings...

LOL, Jessica, great idea with the umbrella! I've often fantasized about having a baseball bat handy whenever some slack jawed student zips past three inches in front of my nose (against a red light on a pedestrian crossing). Unfortunately, a baseball bat is legally considered a weapon while 100kg of badly-driven metal is not. Sounds like you've found the ideal solution ... and I thought I was the only person who noticed that way too many monster-truck-owners are too short to see out of the windows. Compensating for something, perhaps...

The funny thing is, I don't think it's selfishness. After many conversations (and arguments) about this with Taiwanese people, I think it's a combination of two things: firstly, people have very little concept of safety, or of erring on the side of caution, or analyzing the "what if" scenario. This pervades almost every aspect of life: have a look at the electrical wiring in your house sometime. I suspect this is a holdover from when, not so long ago in Taiwan, life was very cheap and everything else was expensive. Secondly, there is the "don't make trouble" attitude. Many people advise me to simply stay well clear of bad drivers, because (the logic goes) you never know if they might be a psychopath and try to kill you. There is some sense in this: murder, in Taiwan, is quite easy to get away with, especially if you use a car to do it. However, it does encourage bad driving, because people who might genuinely be unaware (as opposed to malicious) receive no feedback from their fellow road users.

The government is at fault. They know the roads are a joke and they do nothing. The police allow serious misuse of the road right in front of themselves. They are either incompetent or afraid to make trouble. The DOT does nothing to improve the road behavior by tightening up on the testing--driving lessons and the driving test are pathetic. And all of this results in the low, low standards of road behavior you see everywhere every day.

To make matters worse, not only are the roads some of the worst in the world because of all this, but the hapless pedestrian is often forced to walk in the road because of all the clutter obstructing the sidewalks.

It will never improve.

@jessicalee007

Mary Poppins with plenty of 'tude!

Three words to you: You go, grl! (No vowels necessary!)