Making the roads safer
This is in response to the government’s proposed reversal of its policy allowing heavy motorcycles to use expressways and car-only lanes. Driving a large displacement motorcycle (more than 1,500cc) myself, I feel it is unacceptable to be required to use the same driving lanes and follow the same rules as scooters and bicycles. To be relegated to a narrow scooter lane crossing a Taipei bridge with a 300-plus-kilogram motorcycle is unreasonable, as I am sure most drivers of similar vehicles would agree.
Also, riding on an expressway — except for the irresponsible few who drive as fast as their race bikes can take them — is much safer than riding on the main public roads.
When driving on expressways, traffic flows generally in a straight line. A responsible motorcycle driver has very little to worry about in terms of safety.
On main roads, however, traffic patterns are completely dynamic. With buses crossing back and forth over two lanes of traffic, taxis abruptly stopping or swerving from lane to lane, a million scooter riders jockeying for pole position and cars driving as aggressively as possible, riding a heavy motorcycle under these conditions is stressful and dangerous, to say the least.
I understand that the government is reviewing the policy on allowing heavy motorcycles on the expressways. Officials have come to the conclusion that an inordinate amount of accidents involving motorcycles have occurred on these roadways. While this may be true, a few points should be considered before a knee-jerk reaction puts motorcycle riders in much more dangerous situations. One could be rider education. I obtained my Taiwanese license with minimal difficulty under questionable circumstances (signing in seven different pen colors to show seven different days of attendance, bike set for test conditions using idle rather than throttle control, etc).
With a Canadian motorcycle license and a Canadian motorcycle safety course under my belt, plus many years of safe riding, I didn’t complain about this lax “training.” Many riders in Taiwan graduating from a 125cc scooter to a racing motorcycle capable of speeds in excess of 250kph, however, simply do not have the experience or training needed to safely operate such vehicles. More intensive instruction and more stringent licensing guidelines would likely lead to fewer accidents.
Another point could be the enforcement of traffic laws. I have yet to see someone who is driving irresponsibly being pulled over. As we can assume that Taiwan has a motor vehicle act with rules and regulations, why isn’t the law enforced? Simply stopping people who turn right on red lights is not enough. While it scrutinizes heavy motorcycles, the government should also take a look at other vehicles on the road. Car, truck, bus, taxi and scooter drivers seem to have a sense of impunity when it comes to traffic regulations. Deterrence is simply not there. The “Wild West” was tamed and Taiwan’s roads need to be as well.
Finally, if there are motorcycles on the roads, there will be accidents. Motorcycles account for a small percentage of vehicles on Western roads, but they are responsible for an inordinately high percentage of accidents. Reasons are varied, but in the end, if the government allows this type of vehicle, then there will be problems. The number of licensed motorcycle riders has been increasing every month. This has resulted in higher number of motorcycles on the road, which inevitably leads to a higher number of accidents involving such vehicles. The answer, however, is not to put them in the same category as scooters and hope that the statistics will show an improvement. The answer is to proactively increase the quality of driver education along with increased traffic law enforcement. To all of us who ride motorcycles, if we use caution and act responsibly, the government will not have to consider ending our privileges.
NAME WITHHELD
Taipei
Passport headaches
This is in response to comments by Chaim Melamed’s letter about his incident with customs officers (Letters, July 16, page 8)
He is very angry because his son (who has both Taiwanese and Canadian citizenship) could not travel abroad and was asked for a visa.
If the officer could not read a Canadian passport, surely he had a problem.
But this was not clear in your letter: Did your son also show his Taiwanese passport to the officer?
My children, who live in Taiwan, have a Taiwanese and a EU passport. If they want to travel to a country in the EU, they first need to show both passports at the airline counter so the employee can see that they don’t need a visa. The EU passport is then very useful.
Later, at the police control point, they need to show their Taiwanese passport. If they show only their EU passport, the officer will try to find a visa for Taiwan and if he cannot find one, there will be a problem.
VASILLIS TSO
HUALIEN
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