Are the crosswalks of Taipei for pedestrians to cross the street when the light turns green and beckons to them to do so? Or are they purely decorative -- geometric patterns to break up the monotony of our city's abundant cement in its blue-gray?
I took this video tonight at the corner of Dunhua (敦化) and Civic Boulevard (市民大道) in Taipei. I cross the street every night on my way from the office to the MRT, so I'm pretty used to having to duck, dodge or flat-out stop to let cars pass. Here, a driver almost takes out a group of six or seven pedestrians, myself included, to make a right-hand turn. It seems the driver was in a hurry to make the red light going on 50 meters down the boulevard. He was also talking on the phone, but not so engrossed to miss me filming him on my iPhone. How do I know? Well, we made eye contact. Then he jumped up off his seat and almost swallowed his cell.
To change things, I'm starting to believe, it's up to Taipei's citizens to be vigilant. Here's my contribution. By the way, I managed to catch his tag (license plate number). Watch out for G49950 if you're out for a stroll. He's reckless in how he wields his vehicle.
I've decided to start filming this intersection every evening I pass over it. I'll throw the clips up YouTube from now on.
