上班族必備軟實力

[Richard drives a scooter if he has to.]

You need to do it. Everyone does it. Driving a scooter is a natural part of life in Taiwan. Scooters are everywhere and almost everyone has one. On a scooter you can move through traffic when a car cannot, for the roads are overcrowded.

There are laws: laws that are meant to be broken. The law says to keep scooters to the right, near the curb. In reality, they are all over the road. When the lights turn red on a busy street, scooter will weave through the waiting cars, going besides, between, and around any obstruction. There is usually a space reserved for scooters at the front to wait for the red light to change.

Scooters going to the front.

Many foreigners will not ride a scooter. Many will not let their kids ride. I always tell them that it looks much more dangerous than it actually is. When you are on a scooter and in the middle of a swarm, you can see the order, logic, and pattern of the traffic flow. If you are pedestrian watching from the sidewalk, the whole scene is just a crazy blur.

I only use the motor bike for short trips to the store. On a longer ride, my hands start to get sore from gripping the handlebar too tightly. I should wear gloves or learn to relax, but the scooters are fun to drive. They have a floor that you can put stuff on if it doesn’t fit in the under-the-seat compartment. You don’t need to spend a whole lot on gas, because they get great mileage.

The newer scooters are much more green. They don’t smoke as much as they used to. Electric scooters are starting to get introduced, but they haven’t caught on yet. I’m looking forward to self-driving cars. Be careful out there.