And now for your reading enjoyment . . . Rules of the Road

What is sure to be the first in a series of installments, here are some of my favorite questions from the English Version of the Taiwan Motorcyclists Driver's Manual - the booklet to be reviewed for the written component of the motorcycle driver's license test.

1. When riding, if you see an accident you should (a) leave right now (b) stay and help the injured and be a witness (c) lie if the police inquire. Correct answer: b

2. If you ride and fall down because of oil on the road, you should (a) take it as bad luck and leave right away (b) report to the nearest police station (c) put tree branches or visible markings on the area to warn other drivers. Correct answer: c

3. When riding in the country, you see a flock of geese crossing the road you should (a) honk loudly to make them hurry up (b) speed up and pass (c) slow down and wait for them to pass, then move. Correct answer: c

Though I think you're more likely to encounter a herd of cows or water buffalo than geese.

4. When riding through an urban area of disorder traffic or a road construction section, you should (a) speed up to pass quickly (b) honk fiercely as you ride (c) give way for each other. Correct answer: c

However, experience in traffic will convince you that most believe the correct response to be a combination of a and b - speed up and honk fiercely.

5. If a motorcyclist wants to be honored, happy, and safe on traffic, he should (a) have a sense of morality and follow the laws (b) have good riding skills (c) not smoke and drink.
Correct answer: a

Ride on, oh honored one.

6. To keep good traffic and safety on riding, who should you do first? (a) The traffic management authorities (b) the motorcyclist (c) the pedestrians. Correct answer: b

Umm, no thanks.

7. When a motorcyclist feels upset, the biggest weakness is to have (a) no friendliness (b) no sympathy (c) short temper. Correct answer: c

8. The most important thing for motorcyclists on handling accidents is (a) to be calm and safe (b) to be adventurous (c) to be optimistic and let it be. Correct answer: a

9. The biggest enemy of a motorcyclist is (a) carelessness (b) road barrier (c) animals on the road. Correct answer: a

Next week on Animal Planet: When Road Barriers Attack, I mean, When Street Dogs Attack

10. To insure the safety of oneself and other people, a motorcyclist should always make an effort on cultivating his morality and (a) control oneself and help others (b) refrain others from flaunting other's physical superiority (c) find ways to deal with people. Correct answer: a

Don't you just hate it when others go around flaunting their physical superiority while riding their scooter?

11. When you ride on a muddy road or a road which water has accumulated and there are pedestrians walking around, you should (a) reduce your speed and avoid splashing the dirty water on the pedestrians (b) speed up and rush into the road which water has accumulated (c) honk the horn to make the pedestrians go away. Correct answer: b

Obviously it would seem that the correct answer should be 'a', however, if you would not choose 'b' on the test, it would be wrong. In Taiwan, too often it's accepted that things must be true or correct if they're printed in texts. I've had encounters where people would rather have others believe something that is false than admit that the book it is from could have an error. For example, I had a class of 40 Jr. High students argue with me that there are 51 states in the U.S. because their text book stated so and having lived in the U.S. for 23 years did not make me a reliable source on knowing how many states there actually are.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed these driver's manual questions. Until next time ...