If you've been considering whether it's wise to drive in Taiwan while visiting the country, you might Google the topic. What you find could be alarming.
"Taiwanese simply are not good drivers," says user Vaporgaze2000 on Reddit. Another commenter said of driving in Taiwan: "Don’t trust any other vehicle to behave rationally." Yet another says, "It's best to assume that they (Taiwanese drivers) are all either actively trying to kill you or cause accidents for insurance money."
Oh my.
These types of comments weighed heavily on me as I prepared for my trip to Taiwan, on which I would be driving for five days. Would this be a disaster? Could I survive the "awful" Taiwanese drivers?
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| Traffic in Keelung, Taiwan |
Having just completely my visit, I can offer a first-person perspective. I can assure you that it is terribly unfair to brand all Taiwanese drivers as bad. The vast majority of drivers on the island drive at least as well as most American drivers.
But that doesn't mean it's easy to drive in Taiwan. While the drivers may not be bad, driving in Taiwan is, well, different. A combination of factors will make driving in there a test for American drivers.
For context, let me note that I live in Southern California, so I'm well experienced in driving in heavy traffic. But every country has its own driving quirks, and Taiwan is no exception.
I drove for five days in Taiwan, starting in Tainan, in the southwest, crossing over to the less-populated east coast, driving north to Jinshan, and finally returning the car at Taipei's airport. I avoided driving in dense cities as much as possible.
Driving the lonely roads of Taiwan's East Coast, where thunderous ocean waves crash on rocks on one side of the road while rugged mountain rise dramatically on the other side, was a feast of natural beauty and an unstressful time behind the wheel.
It was also on the east side where we traveled through Taiwan's awe-inspiring system of tunnels. One is eight miles long. The roads themselves were also good -- I don't recall a single pothole.
I did do some driving in cities, the most challenging environment for visiting drivers. And I did spend time on busy highways and freeways. Though they were heavily used, none were clogged bumper-to-bumper like those in Los Angeles.
Here are the key things to be ready for when driving in Taiwan:
Scooters. This is probably the biggest wildcard for U.S. drivers. In the cities, especially Taipei, there are swarms and swarms of scooters (and motorbikes) that share the road with cars. Sometimes they get their own lane, though most of the time they cling to the right edge of the road.
As a car driver, you have to always be conscious that a scooter could be lurking on your right, perhaps in your blind spot, at any time. Set your side mirrors right before heading out! It's always wise to use your turn signals to indicate your intentions, but especially so if you're turning right, where you could conflict with a scooter's route. In some cases, you may be able to move to the left and give scooters a whole lane, but sometimes you have to narrrowly squeeze past them.
That said, scooter drivers are very good at avoiding you. After all, they're the ones that are going to suffer in any kind of collision.
Note that at intersections there is often a marked box right before the stoplight. This is reserved for scooters and bicycles, putting them ahead of cars waiting at the light.
Tailgaters: The vast majority of Taiwanese maintain a reasonable following distance. But there is a 5% element of drivers who aggressively tailgate.
It's not like I've never experienced tailgaters. There are tailgaters in Los Angeles too, but those tend to be lazy tailgaters, who simply don't understand proper following distance. But Taiwanese tailgaters want to get by, and they want to get by now, so they will ride your bumper tightly looking for any way around. The worst, in my experience, were two motorcyclists who on separate occasions rode behind me so closely that they seemed to be sitting in my backseat.
The best response to tailgaters, in Taiwan or anywhere, is to not feel pressured and to not rush. If anything, slow slightly and gradually. With the two motorcylists, I very slightly slowed until they found a way around me. If it's a multi-lane road, leave it to tailgaters to get around you (they'll pass on the left, right, or even on the shoulder). If it's a smaller road, you can look for a turnout of some kind (be sure to signal!), so they can pass. I did that twice over five days.
"Surprise" Red lights: One feature of Taiwan roads that caused me some problems were flashing yellow lights that you'll see on many streets. These lights mark cross-streets. Doesn't seem like a bad idea to warn you of possible cross traffic, right?
The problem is, first, that there are so many of these flashing yellows that you start to tune them out. They just become part of the background. Then, every once in a while one of these flashing yellows will become a solid yellow and suddenly red. While you would obviously notice when a green light becomes yellow, It takes your brain a second or two to realize that a flashing yellow is now a solid yellow. Maybe you have time to slam on the brakes, maybe you don't.
I actually ended up running three red lights because of this. I'm not proud of it! Fortunately, nothing terrible happened. I can imagine how an onlooker might have seen this and said, "Wow, all white people are terrible drivers."
"Normal" surprises: You have to be ready for anything on Taiwanese streets. Periodically, you'll find cars parked halfway, or even fully, in the right lane. Because dedicated left-turn lanes are not common, sometimes it's the left lane that's blocked by a car waiting to turn. These happen all the time, and you'll see drivers just find any way around they can. Be prepared for sudden lane changes. (On the bright side, I found Taiwanese drivers almost always signaled.)
This may seem dangerous, but most drivers seem aware of their surroundings, and will move over or slow down to adjust for others. Not all drivers, though: One did carelessly nearly shift lanes right into me. I had to brake quickly.
Using Google maps. The difficulties of being a new driver in Taiwan is compounded by the fact that you probably don't know where you're going. We used Google Maps all around the country and 97% of the time it was great.
But a couple things did cause trouble. First, Google Maps would refer to freeway exits by their numbers, but the turnoffs aren't marked that way.
Second and maybe it's just me, but I had particular trouble when a lane or two would split from the main highway, but stay in parallel. It was often hard for me in to tell in Google Maps which lane I was supposed to be in.
Advice:
It helps to have a driving "partner" in the car with you. Don't think of it as backseat driving. I was glad to have others in the car who could look at the Google Maps screen and help me. "You need to move over one lane to the right," or "It's not this exit but the next one."
Keeping all the things above in mind, non-Taiwanese can drive without incident in Taiwan. I survived with no dentss, scrapes, or otherwise. You do have to be alert and prepared for surprises. Avoid urban areas as much as you can. Err on the side of caution. It's better to be honked at for being too cautious (it happened to me!), than to rush forward and get in an accident.
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