Driver discipline - Taiwan vs Philippines

[DonCamote]

Comparing driver behaviour in Taipei and Manila:


This is a scene in one of Taipei's busy business district. Disciplined ang mag citizen dito sa Taipei. Look at how they all stay in their designated stop zones while waiting for the green light.

Below naman sa Pilipinas:


Cars riding on the pedestrian lane, motorcycles in the yellow box.

We Filipinos should learn a lot of things about driving discipline in Taipei. A recent visit to Taipei reveals that the Taiwanese are very disciplined drivers.

1. Pedestrian Lanes - drivers respect the rights of pedestrians here, they wait until all of the people walking in the pedestrian lanes are all through before driving through. In Manila, you see a lot of drivers even bullying pedestrians.

2. Horn - In the Philippines, I think one foreigner who visited Manila I know is correct when he says that people seem to use their horns for communication - like cursing other drivers perhaps. In Taipei, I hardly hear anybody honking his horn in this place. Our hotel is Xinyi road (major road in the business district) and I have not heard any vehicle honking his his horn in a weeks stay here.

3. Bus Stops - Buses in Taipei stop only at designated bus stops, they don't open their doors until it's safe to let people get off or get in by making sure it is nearest to the curb. They have a designated lane also and they stay there. In the Philippines, chaos - stop anywhere the driver feels like it.

4. Bus drivers - they are very courteous, say Xie-xie (Thank you) after you pay or when you leave the bus. This is perhaps second nature to most Taiwanese - courtesy and I certainly admire them for it.

5. Designated waiting spots - while waiting for traffic light to turn green, motorcycles, bikes cars and buses have their own boxes to wait and all drivers patiently stay put in their designated boxes until it is their turn to go. In the Philippines, you find Public Utility vehicle drivers jostling for position as if their entire career depends on getting ahead of everybody.

I'm not saying all drivers are like this in the Metro Manila, most of them are courteous but there are a few lot who need to be understood. For most of us setting the right example in road courtesy is a good start.

[xtremerider]

Comparing driver behaviour in Taipei and Manila:


This is a scene in one of Taipei's busy business district. Disciplined ang mag citizen dito sa Taipei. Look at how they all stay in their designated stop zones while waiting for the green light.

Below naman sa Pilipinas:


Cars riding on the pedestrian lane, motorcycles in the yellow box.

We Filipinos should learn a lot of things about driving discipline in Taipei. A recent visit to Taipei reveals that the Taiwanese are very disciplined drivers.

1. Pedestrian Lanes - drivers respect the rights of pedestrians here, they wait until all of the people walking in the pedestrian lanes are all through before driving through. In Manila, you see a lot of drivers even bullying pedestrians.

2. Horn - In the Philippines, I think one foreigner who visited Manila I know is correct when he says that people seem to use their horns for communication - like cursing other drivers perhaps. In Taipei, I hardly hear anybody honking his horn in this place. Our hotel is Xinyi road (major road in the business district) and I have not heard any vehicle honking his his horn in a weeks stay here.

3. Bus Stops - Buses in Taipei stop only at designated bus stops, they don't open their doors until it's safe to let people get off or get in by making sure it is nearest to the curb. They have a designated lane also and they stay there. In the Philippines, chaos - stop anywhere the driver feels like it.

4. Bus drivers - they are very courteous, say Xie-xie (Thank you) after you pay or when you leave the bus. This is perhaps second nature to most Taiwanese - courtesy and I certainly admire them for it.

5. Designated waiting spots - while waiting for traffic light to turn green, motorcycles, bikes cars and buses have their own boxes to wait and all drivers patiently stay put in their designated boxes until it is their turn to go. In the Philippines, you find Public Utility vehicle drivers jostling for position as if their entire career depends on getting ahead of everybody.

I'm not saying all drivers are like this in the Metro Manila, most of them are courteous but there are a few lot who need to be understood. For most of us setting the right example in road courtesy is a good start.

The reason why there are discipline driver's not only in taiwan but some countries in the world with strict issuance of driving license...you have to go a driving lessons then aquire and pass the driving exam...Unlike here in the Philippines, even a blind can get a professional driver's license.

[speed unlimited]

Taiwan , China ,Macau almost the same rules and regulation regarding traffic .One month vacation in macau and very satisfied in commuting bus going to different places they have designated bus stop and route number of the bus .Even though you dont know how to speak chinese you will not mislead were your going to. One thing i noticed in macau you can never see any bus ,motorcycle , cars that are smoke belcher .I dont know if they are strict on there emission or the gasoline they put in there car. Most cars are right hand drive .Drivers are discipline .It looks like they dont use horn. Lots of nice cars most i see has full body side skirt. and custom decals on it. In the evening you can hear the roaring engine and muffler.Lots of performance parts. Most of the Filipno work on autoshop as helper .A friend of mine His boss name Daniel tam who use to be an owner of auto accessory like RECARO SEAT and lots of racing parts .The owner own a red FERRARI CAR As it enter the garage you can here the roaring of the engine even not revving. They have also a racing GO CART were most of our filipino gocart racer practice in there track in Macau. Street in macau were very narrow but the drivers are very fast .They have a long bridge going to Macau Tower and has a Radar Detector on it. Have a nice time in macau all i do is to buy an accessory on my Big Bike and car.

[ans_lim168]

You can't say anything more, here we get the kind of drivers basically because of how the LTO issues driver's licenses. Strict issuance and political will is the key.

[KERSMcRae]

Discipline can only be seen on real, civilized, and master-planned cities.
Metro Manila is the best (and maybe the only) jungle city. The only excuse is, agree or not, we're still a third world country...

[win]

walang katapusan debate tong topic. lack of proper education kasi ang problema dito sa Phils., matira-matibay ang style dito kasi.

[speed unlimited]

Napapagusapan lang . Kung may mga rules and regulation tayo sa batas traffic . Kung ang bawat driver hindi naman sinusunod wala ring mangyayari . Ganoon din sa mga nagpapatupad nito sa mga traffic enforcer wala ring mangyayari. Dapat matagal na kumbaga sa puno matigas na ang sanga dapat habang maliit pa itinatama na. Bakit pag sa loob ng subic ingat na ingat ang mga driver . Paano alam nila na kailangan silang sumunod sa batas traffic sa loob kung hindi huhulihin ka talaga at noon pa ipinatupad iyan kaya alam ng mga driver sumunod ka sa batas ng traffic sa loob.

[reym]

Well it all boils down to strict implementation of the traffic rules by the traffic enforcers.

Kaya marami nag kakabarilan sa daan dahil walang nagpapatupad ng batas at ung mga nag gigiit ng tama sila un ang nananalo nang bubully sa daan, pag alam mo tama ka at depend mo na tama ka, mababaril ka pa.

[architect]

Discipline can only be seen on real, civilized, and master-planned cities.
Metro Manila is the best (and maybe the only) jungle city. The only excuse is, agree or not, we're still a third world country...

Believe it or not, Manila actually had a master plan designed by no less than Daniel Burnham, who also designed Chicago (and Baguio), among others. Needless to say, Manila's master plan was not followed.

Filipinos are actually cursed with a peculiar sense of proxemics that doesn't translate well into discipline in traffic. We can only define space as perceived by physical boundaries. Lanes delineated by mere paint or markers remain invisible to us. Hence local drivers tend to try to insert themselves in between two cars, or between a car and the curb. It is also the reason why MMDA needs to put up its pink fences - these are very physical barriers that we can sense and follow.

[danesjr]

+1 on stricter policies on driving license issuance.
that's the root cause of the problem. next is stricter implementation of traffic rules. tignan nyo sa subic, ambabait natin mag drive.

[MaxAJ]

dapat mag karuon ng entrapment or something like that in LTO, to protect the future of the citizens and motorist. iwas accident

[DonCamote]

+1 on stricter policies on driving license issuance.
that's the root cause of the problem. next is stricter implementation of traffic rules. tignan nyo sa subic, ambabait natin mag drive.

Agree on this 100%.

License - this is the country where a license is a merchandise you can buy.

Enforcement - yes Subic, it had a reputation of being strict so those who are aware make sure they follow. So this is not a sickness in the whole country, selective implementation lang kasi. Kung bumisita si Juan sa Subic, law-abiding citizen. Sa ibang parte ng Pilipinas, kung manghuli man, tumatangap naman ng lagay so these enforcers are not doing their job and they are also stealing from the collections.

Imagine if law is strictly implemented in the whole country, then we have a Subic like discipline. Who was the brainchild of this in Subic traffic discipline?

[roninblade]

ngayon ko lang nabasa...

Taiwan , China ,Macau almost the same rules and regulation regarding traffic .One month vacation in macau and very satisfied in commuting bus going to different places they have designated bus stop and route number of the bus .Even though you dont know how to speak chinese you will not mislead were your going to. One thing i noticed in macau you can never see any bus ,motorcycle , cars that are smoke belcher .I dont know if they are strict on there emission or the gasoline they put in there car. Most cars are right hand drive .Drivers are discipline .It looks like they dont use horn. Lots of nice cars most i see has full body side skirt. and custom decals on it. In the evening you can hear the roaring engine and muffler.Lots of performance parts. Most of the Filipno work on autoshop as helper .A friend of mine His boss name Daniel tam who use to be an owner of auto accessory like RECARO SEAT and lots of racing parts .The owner own a red FERRARI CAR As it enter the garage you can here the roaring of the engine even not revving. They have also a racing GO CART were most of our filipino gocart racer practice in there track in Macau. Street in macau were very narrow but the drivers are very fast .They have a long bridge going to Macau Tower and has a Radar Detector on it. Have a nice time in macau all i do is to buy an accessory on my Big Bike and car.

i guess i stayed there longer than you 'cause i heard quite a number of people using horns. this is because i've seen a number of undisciplined drivers there as well. mas madami ka siguro makikitang lokong driver dun sa november, during the Macau Gran Prix; a lot of local drivers think they are driving in the race. hahahaha. but you're also right, madami disciplined drivers in macau. nakakakita siguro ako ng lokong driver dun about once or maybe a few times a day. whereas dito sa atin, kahit saan ka lumingon meron. hahaha.

konti ang smoke belching automotives dun kasi halos lahat ng sasakyan bago. pero na-offset naman ito sa dami ng 2 stroke scooters dun. pag nag fog/mist dun di mo minsan alam kung dahil sa pollution or if it's the real thing.

what i admire, though, about the drivers in macau is their skill in parallel parking. majority there are compact cars pero meron din mga long cars ng benz and bmw na nakikita ko magaling isingit sa small parking spaces dun.

there's quite a number of performance cars nga dun. i once saw a lambo gallardo with the engine running parked on the side of the road with the driver not in sight.

[MaxAJ]

Agree on this 100%.

License - this is the country where a license is a merchandise you can buy.

Enforcement - yes Subic, it had a reputation of being strict so those who are aware make sure they follow. So this is not a sickness in the whole country, selective implementation lang kasi. Kung bumisita si Juan sa Subic, law-abiding citizen. Sa ibang parte ng Pilipinas, kung manghuli man, tumatangap naman ng lagay so these enforcers are not doing their job and they are also stealing from the collections.

Imagine if law is strictly implemented in the whole country, then we have a Subic like discipline. Who was the brainchild of this in Subic traffic discipline?

si Dick Gordon ata.. pero nag bago na siya attitude wise.. medyo masungit na now saw him in person before at Intercon

[seonadancing]

This is a sad topic anytime I read about it because it seems like wala na tayo magagawa e. Sa Binondo, pati traffic enforcer pinapabayaan mga jeep na pumasok sa soler, tatlong sign na pinatayo sa recto papasok ng masangkay na bawal ang jeep, sige pa din ang pasok, tapos makikita mo na mag nangongolekta ng tong. So anong gagawin ko? Gusto ko murahin mga pulis pero ang kakapal ng mukha nito, di kaya ng mura lang. Pwede ko sprayan lahat ng jeepney driver ng pepper spray pero kawawa naman mga pasahero. Pati mga padyak nakaharang sa sidewalk, singit ng singit, bangain ko man ako pa din may kasalanan dahil sa bulok na batas trapiko natin. Nakakalungkot lang isipin na parang wala ng pag asa itong bansa natin talaga.

Di lang pala tangang driver ang problema, pati tangang pedestrians isa pang problema. Sa Hong Kong marunong sumunod sa pedestrian lane mga tao, dito kahit saan tatawid, mabagal pa maglakad. Walang pag asa talaga. I'm not a pessimist but

[kur0sawa]

Nagpunta ako HK minsan yun nakita kong maganda dun ay yun mga driver kung saan lane sila dun lang talaga sila kahit pakurbada man hindi nawawala sa lane e dito sa atin yun linya sa kalsada andun sila hindi ko tuloy maintindihan kung para saan yun linya na yan

[seonadancing]

Sabi nga ni anonymous, the traffic rules and regulations here are merely suggestions!!!

[OldSchoolHack]

Huh? The province of taiwan (sabi ng Chinese sa Mainland province lang daw yun hindi state) should be no different from the mainland.

While in Shanghai the taxi we rode in nearly hit a pedestrian for crossing even when the stop light for pedestrian was red. Mind you, most of these stop lights have timers which countdown kaya talagang pasaway din ang mga chinese, drivers and pedestrians. There was even a highlighted drunk driver who was found guilty of hitting six pedestrian and killing two.

And people there ride bikes, scooters and motorcycles without safety gears!!!! no helmets!!!!! So what if they drive at a liesurely pace, it is still dangerous.

The near hit with pedestrians and vehicles happened to us three times. Two in Shanghai and one in Nanjing. In ONE WEEK!!!!!

Maangas Philippine drivers and pedestrians? Then maybe you guys should visit China.

[DonCamote]

Ganun pala sa mainland China. Hehe parang sa atin. Subic is like Taipei, the rest of the Philippines is like mainland China.

What I saw in Taipei is a beautiful example of traffic discipline. Kahit maliliit na alley, sumusunod sila sa traffic. It does not seem to matter whether somebody is watching them or not, they just follow rules (as simple as that). Whether you ride the bus, taxi, private car or bikes, the city is much more pleasant to travel through.

[Monseratto]

Our traffic problem show the extent of corruption in goverment. A blind man with a professional driver's is an example. A majority of our PUV driver should not be driving at all.