Traffic rules seem to only lightly apply to scooter-drivers. If a scooter can reach a certain speed and safely maneuver then that speed is fine and no cause for concern. Scooters bob and dart around cars and buses like lesser fish do with porpoises and whales. The one rule that seems to hold most strictly is that a scooter can never turn left at a traffic light. At an intersection, if you want to go left, you pull over to a small box designated for scooters and wait for the opposite light to turn. Or if you're less patient you can take your scooter up a pedestrian crosswalk instead of waiting.
Scooter driving requires some accessorizing. First and most predictably is the helmet, from the hard plastic cap to the full-face motorcycle style. Helmet designs range from M&M logos, butterflies with skulls, Hello Kitty, abstract graphics, faces, and even the occasional pair of devil horns poking from the top. The more surprising scooter garb is the face mask - one of the latest Taiwanese trends is to don a surgical mask made of cloth, with any manner of pattern or design (with about the same diversity of the helmets). While Taiwan has had a freak out over swine flu similar to the US (here they're a bit more proper and call it H1N1), but the masks surely aren't that effective at purifying breath. The cloth is thin after all, doesn't really adhere to the face, nor would the risk of exposure be very high while scootering around the city. The next assumption is that the masks protect against air pollution, but the same holes pop up. The actual appeal of the masks lies in the Taiwanese notion of beauty - white is wonderful. The women here go to extremes to avoid any exposure to the sun, from masks and umbrellas to special removable sleeves that are also part of the scooter accoutrement.
If the air pollution gets any more visible though, I may go that extra mile and pick up a face mask. Can't wait to see how those tanlines turn out.
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