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By Sean Allingham
Artwok by Matt Gibson
Although many people come to Taiwan with an international driver’s license from their home countries, the majority of these licenses are only good for 30 days. If you’re planning to stick around Taiwan for an extended period of time and want to exercise the freedom of the open road, it would be wise to consider getting the appropriate documentation to legally operate a small scooter or motorcycle (the most common form of transportation here). Here’s how to do it.
What You Need
1.ARC
2.Three passport photos
3.One completed motor vehicle medical form
4.NT$800
5.One scooter or motorcycle (some DMV’s offer cheap rental scooters for the test).
The Goods
Step 1: Go to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or your local ARC Health Check approved hospital (you can find a list of these hospitals at www.englishintaiwan.com), and get a copy of the motor vehicle medical form. Fill it out.
Step 2: Take the form along with three passport photos and NT$100 to the ARC Health Check approved hospital for your motor vehicle health check (this can be done in conjunction with the first step). The health check takes about 20 minutes.
Step 3: Take your completed motor vehicle medical form, your scooter or motorcycle, and NT$700 to your local DMV to take the test. You can get a practice book from the DMV or practice taking the test online in the driver’s license section of www.tealit.com. This is highly recommended as the English on the written section of the test can be difficult to understand.
Note: If you’re only driving a 50cc scooter, only a written test is required. If you’re driving a 60cc-150cc vehicle you’ll have to do a road test. If you’re driving a larger motorcycle or car, different tests (not mentioned here), are required.
The road test consists of a slow driving track where the rider must drive a distance of fifteen meters in over seven seconds. If you put your foot down, points are deducted from your final score. You will then come to a traffic light, a railroad crossing and a pedestrian crossing where the appropriate action must be taken depending on what each crossing’s lights are showing.
Once this test is completed you’re only a hop - skip - and a NT$700 payment away from being a full-fledged legal driver in Taiwan. Good luck!
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