Driving in Taiwan

September 30, 2024

I've recently got my first ever driving license and was driving for the first time on my own yesterday. We rented a car and went to the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium in the south.

The trip there was okay, it was during the day, roads were clear and Google Maps worked as expected.

The trip back was not so pleasant.

1. It took place during and after the sunset. I suddenly discovered that my side windows were tinted. That's really dumb. It greatly affects visibility, changing lanes and getting on highways was not fun. I understand that the sun is a concern, but come on! There are ways to cover windows whenever the car is parked in the open, and most of the UV rays are stopped by the regular glass anyway. Seems fully or nearly-fully transparent anti-UV coating is also an option. Once I made my observation, I discovered that most cars in Taiwan have a visible tint. Beware, they are also half-blind at night.

2. Navigation with Google Maps works... until it doesn't. As I was on a highway, my phone started losing a GPS signal for a brief moment triggering re-routing. After re-routing the navigator app mistakenly assumed I was under the highway and navigated me back on it. It happened a few times. One time I got confused and exited the highway one exit too early. With that I had to make my way through the city. Google did an OK job but I wish it gave me more detailed instructions. For example: the main road and a slow lane separated by a safety island, I need to turn right and must do it from the slow lane. "Take the left lane to turn right" is technically a correct instruction, but "turn right to the slow lane to turn right in 200 meters" would be much better.

Overall it was okay for the first time. Navigation issues were minor and it's just a matter of experience. But I'd probably avoid driving in Taiwan unless I buy my own car and get rid of a dumb tint.

PS we saw cute Beluga whales! They were definitely not Russian spies.

Download: mov