Questions about legality

[kjmillig]

Can anyone answer these authoritatively, not just "my Taiwanese friend told me"?
1. Must passengers on scooters/motorcycles wear helmets? One Taiwanese friend told me that only the driver must. This from voicing my concern of kids not wearing a helmet while the adult driver does. She also said that kids cannot legally be in front of the driver.
2. Is talking on a cell phone while driving illegal?
3. Are car seats for kids required? While I'm long past having kids that small, I cringe when I see the 2 year old standing between the front seats.
4. Are back seat passengers in a car required to wear a seat belt? I've noticed stickers in taxis to that effect, and even had one Taxi driver insist that everyone buckle up. My family members always do in our own car, but not always in a taxi.

[bigduke6]

The wife tells me the law requires back seat passengers to wear seatbelts.

[kaikai34]

Not in any way authoritatively, but I'm pretty sure...
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. No?
4. Yes

[citizen k]

All four are "yes", though it wouldn't always seem obvious by looking around at traffic in the streets.

[kjmillig]

I've often said to friends that Taiwan would have to hire 10,000+ more police and train them to actually enforce the laws with a degree of strictness to even begin to make a dent in traffic enforcement. 2-4 cops on every intersection with cameras and start amiling out tickets with hefty fines would slowly start getting people's attention. Of course it would also clog the police stations and courts with peopel arguing about their fines.

[Confuzius]

The first few months I moved here, I thought it was legal for children to ride a scooter without helmets, but it is illegal.

I guess the only thing legal is not to give a f*ck about your children's safety.

[Belgian Pie]

Yes to all 4, but hey who cares as long as you can get away with it and that it's up to the guy in blue on the street ... police is like any other work place in Taiwan, every day they get their strict work orders of what to enforce that specific day, nothing else, no spontanious actions that stray from the daily orders are needed.

[Exister]

Here in Yilan I would say the majority of kids riding on the back/front/sides of their parents' scooters don't wear helmets. I hate to see it and I tell all my students to wear helmets, hoping they will go back and tell their parents. Another thing you see here in Yilan, not sure about elsewhere, when it is rainy or really sunny you will see people driving their scooter and carrying an umbrella at the same time. Doesn't seem worth it to me, ha.