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Letters: Cut bikes some slack

I am writing in response to the article titled "Reaction to motorbike rule mixed" (Nov. 4, page 2).

The opinion of Taiwanese automobile drivers toward motorcycles is misguided. Car drivers seem to have this feeling of entitlement to the roads and view motorcycles as a nuisance. People should consider the benefits of motorcycles before criticizing them too much.

Karen Tseng from Hsinchu should consider how much worse traffic would be in the city if every motorcycle rider were instead driving a car. By suggesting that motorcycles on the highways would add to congestion, she is ignoring the possibility that those people might have been on the highway anyway -- but in a car.

The same applies to parking spaces in the city. What difference does it make if a person chooses to park her car or motorcycle downtown? Why is her car more important than someone else's motorcycle? Three or four motorcycles could fit in the space used by one car, which reduces the parking problem.

Joanna Hsu worries that large motorcycles would split lanes or move to the front of the line at traffic lights, like scooters do. What's the problem? Splitting lanes is no more dangerous for a motorcycle than a scooter and moving to the front of the line isn't a privilege reserved for scooters.

As for the person who said she was so intimidated by the number of large motorcycles on the road that she hit a rail on the side, perhaps she shouldn't be driving in the first place as she appears to be easily rattled.

Here's a question for residents living close to Taipei's Huanhe Expressway: Are motorcycles noisier than diesel trucks and buses? I live near a highway as well and that's what keeps me awake at night.

Motorcycles save on gas, reduce traffic congestion and ease parking problems. It's a disservice to Taiwanese society that they are so heavily taxed and regulated.

Craig Dodge

Sindian, Taipei County

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