Driving Laws
The rules of the road in Taipei probably differ slightly from your home town. Here is a quick guide to the road rules in Taiwan. To become familiar with the laws you can also take the online drivers test at: http://202.39.131.186:8080/driver-sim-test-1.0/test/index.do.
Law 1: wear a helmet
I know it's not cool, but it's the law. Not wearing a helmet is probably the quickest way to get yourself pulled over. There are millions of stores that sell helmets so finding one that you like shouldn't be too difficult. In time you will find yourself amassing multiple helmets which you don't want, don't need and don't know where they came from.
Law 2: no turn on red
In Taiwan you cannot turn on red. No right turn, no left turn. Yes, it sucks waiting for the light when no one is coming but it's not worth the ticket that you will get if you do turn. Late at night I usually ignore this rule, but that's just me.
Law 3: no left turn
You can never turn left. If a scooter wants to turn left they have to veer to the right and then turn around into the small scooter box at the front of the line of traffic, then wait for the light to change. If you want to turn around 180 degrees then you have to do this 2 times.
Law 4: speed limit of 40 km/hr
The speed limit on city roads is 40 km/hr. If you've driven before you will notice that no one goes this slow. The speed catching cameras are activated at 60 km/hr and you probably wont be pulled over for going slower than this. If you do get a ticket it will be sent to you in the mail with a picture of you and your scooter and you will have to pay the fine.
Law 5: drive in the scooter lanes
The scooter lanes are always the two lanes on the right side of the road. If a raod has two lanes then both lanes are for scooters. A good rule is to stay as far to the right as you can. Tickets for driving in the wrong lane will cost you 700nt a pop.
Law 6: park in the white box
You'll notice that scooters seem to be parked everywhere in the city. If you want to stay on the right side of the law you will make sure that you leave your scooter only in the white boxes designated for scooter parking. Tickets for improper parking usually run around 700nt.
Law 7: stop in the scooter box
When stopping at a red light you have to stop in the scooter box. The scooter box is at front of the lane of traffic and is marked with a big scooter. There are cameras which will occasionally catch you if you stray from the box which costs 1000nt. If there is no box then just stop before the white line on the road.
Law 8: stay out of the bus lane
Certain lanes are reserved for busses. It's pretty obvious but you need to stay out of the bus lanes. They are usually well marked and right in the middle of the road, where you shouldn't be anyway. Tickets for driving in the bus lane will run you 700nt.
Law 9: get a driver's licence
Forget the fact that it's nearly impossible for most foreigners to get a driver's licence, you still need one to drive legally. Of the people I know who drive, about 5% of them actually have a licence. Police used to wave foreigners through the check points with no licence check but this is rapidly changing. If you get caught without a licence it will cost you 6000nt. In addition to the fine, if you get in an accident without a licence you will be considered responsible and have to pay any damages. For more information about getting a licence click here.
Law 10: don't drink and drive
Drinking and driving is not tolerated in Taiwan. I found this out after being in the country for about six months. To the right is a scan of my receipt for the 30,000nt ticket. The minimum blood alchohol limit in Taiwan is .25. If you are over .55 you will be fined 60,000nt and up, then sent to court and probably deported. You have one week to pay the ticket from the time received. If you choose not to pay your ticket the fine will be tripled and you will still have to pay. If you need a time extension to pay your fine you will have to go to the Traffic Adjudication Office at Roosevelt rd. Sec. 4, no. 92, on the 7th and 8th floors. Once in the office continue talking to people until someone gives you more time. I actually had to walk behind the counters, find the supervisor and ask him personally.
Important numbers:
- Vehicle impound hotline: 08-0000-0537 (no English service)
- Traffic ticket hotline: 2367-5280
