Driving Morals

I wrote last year about getting my scooter license, and the crazy questions on the test.  One favorite I wrote about was this:

"You're driving when oil causes you to fall. You: a) count it as bad luck and drive on; b) report to the nearest police station; c) put some branches on the road to warn other drivers." Yes, in the US putting branches on the road would never be the correct answer, but here- it's all part of good driving morals!

The funny thing is, not a month later, and what do I see but branches in the middle of the road, followed by a guy changing a tire on a blind curve.   I was riding in Jasmine's car and I commented on how funny it was.  "You wouldn't do that in America?" she asked.  "No," I said, "we'd pull off the blind curve onto a straight stretch and set up flares."  She nodded like they were both valid responses- like I'd told her, "Americans use forks and Chinese people use chopsticks!"

Or, if you don't have any branches handy, just put a dead sapling next to the gaping hole in the road.  Another popular move is to put an orange cone in a huge hole in the road and put a large tree branch in the hole at the top of the cone- kind of use the cone like a vase.  But, like all things in Taiwan, what I think is stupid at first makes total sense later on.  Those branches really do draw your attention to the danger you need to avoid!