Children Sleeping on Scooters
Here are some pics I found while reorganizing the Taiwan photo gallery of this site. Notice the lack of helmets on the kids and the dangerous position they are in while sleeping on scooters. This is a tough situation in Taiwan. Taiwan doesn’t need any more cars, and many people can’t afford a car anyway. How are you going to keep kids safe on scooters? How are you supposed to get your children around?
It is illegal to have a kid on a bike without a helmet, but everyone does it. You’ll see a parent on a bike with a helmet and the kids without it. It’s so bizarre. One decent skulling as a youth and you may be drooling for the rest of your life, so it is my hope that Taiwan gets their act together and starts making children weir safety gear on bikes and fines whoever was riding the bike for reckless endangerment. Now, without the kids it is a different story. Go ahead and let the wind blow through your own hair…
I like the guy in the back with the hardhat. He’s the man.
I thought you could have a kid without a helmet on a bike if they are under 14 years. I know that sounds insane but I think it’s true.
Well, I think it is a moot point anyway because they don’t enforce many laws here anyway. As Michael Turton was saying the other day in a conversation the police administer the law, not enforce it.
Yeah… I see this all the time, and I feel so sorry for those kids. The parents are acting in a paradoxical way, too. They spend so much of their time and attention hauling the kids to and from school, and don’t even think it proper to give them a helmet! Even the ones that do have helmets are usually wearing ones that don’t fit well and would surely just pop right off in the event of an accident (well… I guess the case is the same for the parent, too!).
The government should train police officers better and make them make children wear helmets (change the law if needed). Or maybe… run some TV ads showing pictures of people crashing their scooters and not wear helmets a la rotten.com!!!
Speaking of media coverage… there was some news coverage today telling people when they’re riding scooters/motorcycles to make sure they’re not tired and to wear a proper helmet and windbreaker; the story came up because someone recently died while riding his scooter around the island due to tiredness. But really… the news still didn’t do a good job of explaining the necessity of a helmet that covers more than the top of your egg. Maybe ZEUS could run an ad campaign? Hey - it’d equal more profits for them, and safety for the average fool.
There should be a reeducation for everything related to driving/riding here, including but not limited to safety on so many levels, pollution, courtesy, and enforcement of the law. I guess I like that it is loose most of the time. But really… I have been on the receiving end of some bad moves of other drivers here and it has cost me a motorcycle, some pants, extra cash, tendinitis in my foot, and lots of aggravation.