Monday, September 12, 2011

When Two Wheelers Attack

A stop light in Taipei, Taiwan during rush hour.

I was in South Korea and Taiwan for a few days last week for meetings with our suppliers.  Every time I'm in Asia, seeing motorcycles and scooters zipping around, it further reinforces my believe of how two wheelers are completely under utilized in this country as a transportation tool.

Most of the people in this country ride for fun.  Few use their two wheeler as their main transportation vehicle.  Even fewer have their two wheeler as their only transportation vehicle.

Now, I understand that it's difficult and/or impossible to ride when the whether is bad, and you can't really carry big things or 2 or more people with it, but in this country, most people don't even consider a two wheeler as a possible transportation method.

I don't need to beat you to death on the benefits of riding a two wheeler over a cager, and as for safety, if there are enough two wheelers on the road, the cagers will eventually change their habit and we can all co-exist in harmony (case and point, Taiwan).  For sure, there will be a learning period before the cagers change their driving habit, but this will also, hopefully, make better drivers out of all of us.

Looking at the riders in Asia, it gives me hope that maybe one day more people will ride instead of drive in this country.

And BTW, for a couple of days in Taiwan, I got to ride this awesome Vino around town!