TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kids in Taiwan are still taught at school the "streets are like a tiger’s mouth” (馬路如虎口) and partly as a result some are, for good reason, scared to death of roads.
The theory goes, according to a taxi driver on a recent ride, that when kids graduate from being pedestrians to becoming car owners, they think it is their turn to be scary. This explains, he believes, why driving in Taiwan is so lawless and dangerous.
Added to which, the taxi man says, most Taiwanese follow the ancient Chinese precept of small should give way to big, which is contrary to the Western idea of “steam giving way to sail,” or powerful giving way to small.
Translated, this means cars in the West typically stop for pedestrians at zebra crossings because people squash easily. Meanwhile, in the Sinosphere, pedestrians should take care not to impede the progress of cars and trucks — which are big and important and the owners probably have more money, so you do not want to mess with them because they probably have the law on their side.
“When I was young I was scared stiff of cars and scooters, but now I drive, and everyone else better watch out,” says the taxi driver with a loud laugh, swinging wildly through another blind turn, possibly oblivious to the scooter he nearly crushes in the process.
As has been well publicized of late, Taiwan is supposed to be a “living hell for pedestrians.” Western visitors are warned in state travel advisories to “exercise caution” as “scooter drivers don’t respect travel laws” and are “extremely reckless,” according to a CNN piece that hit the mark in December last year.
Since then, not a day has gone past without some journalist or “citizen influencer” repeating “Taiwan’s pedestrian hell” and hyping up the latest traffic incident as an example of the “worsening” situation. Traffic accidents are now top 10 news items. It was not always thus.
Mortal panic
Reading between the lines, you can tell the government is panicking because, in its haste to head off the bad headlines, it has hiked penalties for bad driving and introduced a law that it then had to backtrack on.
Yes, so muddled were the authorities that last week the National Police Agency proudly announced that cars had to stop if people were on a zebra crossing. In a laughable if it was not so serious volte-face, the same day the transport ministry rowed back on this by saying such a law could not be implemented because it would restrict the flow of traffic and was “too strict.”
Which leads us back to the idea of soft, little things that are easily squashed getting in the way of progress.
The thing is, are Taiwan’s drivers and roads so bad considering Taiwan is small, the population is relatively large, and traffic is fairly efficient in terms of getting from A to B? Let us look at the figures.
The nation’s population density in 2023 was 661 people per kilometer squared, which gives it a world ranking of 17, behind Macau (21,403), Monaco, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Added to which, it should be recognized that Taiwan is mostly Central Mountain Range and the population is concentrated mostly on the western coast and in its major cities.
In 2021, 2,962 people died on the roads in Taiwan, which works out at 2.67 deaths for every 100,000 individuals, according to the CNN report, which does not mention where it got its figures from. “That’s approximately six times higher than Japan and five times higher than the U.K.”
Roadkill
In a “Road Deaths per Country” report by World Population Review for 2023 (so far), Taiwan is said to have 12.10 deaths per 100,000 people. Monaco, also dense and the home of Formula 1 drivers, appears to have no road deaths so far among its populace of 36,297. In second place is Hong Kong with 1.3 deaths per 100,000 individuals.
Sweden, the U.K., Japan, and other European nations do well to restrict the number of road deaths, while Taiwan is in 68th place, which is ahead of the U.S. at 12.4 deaths per 100,000, China at 18.8, and in last place, Liberia at 35.9.
Okay, so Taiwan actually has one of the best records for road traffic safety in Asia. Not a glowing report card, but not that bad, relatively speaking. And it’s improving. Interestingly, density does not seem to be as much of an issue as one might think, since Monaco and Hong Kong perform admirably in this respect.
Anecdotally, having driven in China, Hong Kong, the U.S., U.K., Germany, Japan, and Taiwan, the figures seem about right. China is a nightmare for pedestrians who are treated as second-class citizens, while Hong Kong is amazing in terms of how much traffic gets about so quickly and safely.
Japanese drivers are a pleasure. At intersections they wave you on, while you wave them on, trying to out-polite each other. Getting onto the motorway, cars move in concert like a zipper, in a smooth, one-at-a-time line into traffic. Germany’s autobahns are fast and safe, the drivers responsible and competent, like an Audi ad.
Taiwan not so much. As has been said before, the population’s much-vaunted and impressive friendliness, safety consciousness and law-abidingness, seem to fly out of the window when an individual gets behind the wheel of a car — especially if it is a “prestige” model. The level of passive-aggressiveness is intense even if overt road rage (taxi drivers excepted) is less than say, the U.S. and U.K.
Facing the flak
Which brings us back to why Taiwan is getting such a lot of flak for its road safety. To Western eyes, it can look chaotic, with scooters everywhere, and parking appears to be a disaster waiting to happen.
It is often Westerners who criticize the traffic. Like everyone else they observe from their own experience and this can be limited. Some commentators are saying things like, “Taiwan is the only place in the world where no one stops for pedestrians.”
As has been pointed out by those who do travel, such views could only be made by people who do not. As the figures show, Taiwan is middling, and there are far worse places for road traffic safety. Which is not to say that Taiwan should be complacent.
Dial down the outrage
I get that pedestrians, especially visitors from the West, like myself, would wish the traffic conditions to be like they are in their home country. But it is not our country and insisting that everyone else should be like us really is not the point.
Maybe it is time to dial down the outrage. It gets a bit racy as in racist on occasion.
It’s a worldwide thing, not just local. There are too many cars, too many people, and not enough space, and everyone wants to get somewhere fast. So, the solution is only ever going to be a fudge.
Pedestrians want what they want, drivers want what they want, so there has to be a compromise. No one wants accidents and road deaths, so data, science, legislation, better planning and infrastructure are things that can help, as can more comprehensive driving lessons, and training sessions for those who flout the rules.
Yes, Taiwan could do better, and it appears the chorus of disapproval has been heard and something is being done about it. On Friday (June 30) several new road traffic laws were enacted, including higher fines for drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians, for dangerous driving, and other safety infractions.
It’s time for a fresh start and further road safety improvements. It’s called progress.
