Environmental Safety in Taiwan

And finally, I have had the energy to get off my lazy ass, and translate one of my pieces about Taiwan. And this time it is about the environment and safety in Taiwan.
When I was there, I was smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. Well, not actually, since I have quit smoking a few years ago. But with all the fumes over there it sometimes felt like it. The scooters and other traffic are blowing so much exhaust fumes, that it sometimes just gets to your throat. That's why a lot of people are wearing a dust mask for protection while driving the scooter.

I must say, it always is fun to see what kind of exotic beauty has been hiding behind the mask. However, the result is variable, and sometimes disappointing. Some people I might even suggest to put it back on.
The funny thing is that this mask has become part of the fashion nowadays. Everyone has at least 2 or three at home, and they come in all sorts and sizes: for adults, for kids, in red, in blue, with Pokemon, Superman, etc. Some pick the right color with the outfit they are wearing that day.
And if you don't have the right color present that day, you can just go to the night market, to buy it.

The funny thing is that things are a bit contradictory. One hand side they have all kinds of recycle projects, but at the same time they drive around on poluting scooters. Also the safety on these scooters is funny to see. Well, you may have read the story about the traffic and what Taiwanese mean when they are talking about helmets. Also the payload of a scooter isn't much more than a guideline. Seeing entire families riding 1 scooter is normal over there. Picture this (well, you don't need to, just check out the picture below): Mother (with "proper" helmet) riding scooter, girl (without helmet) between her legs, behind the mother there is another girl sitting (no helmet) all squeezed between mother and aunty (with helmet again this time). Of course you can think of other varieties on this.

And what if the kid is too small to stand on the front? Don't worry, just put a chair on it:

Luckily the police doesn't think this is safe, so whenever they find something like this, you can expect quite a nice fine from them.

The thing I think is quite scary, but apparently generally accepted, is the way they drive around with those big gastanks on the back of their scooters. And I don't mean those small camping gasbottles......no, I mean those big tanks. Here in Holland, you almost need a license and a Dangerous Goods Management course, just to buy a small cannister of gas for you camping cooking set, and your car needs special preparations to drive home with it. In Taiwan you can just see them drive around town,with a special rack at the back, fit for three tanks, sometimes even with a cigarette in the mouth. What if the guy gets into an accident, tanks break open, engine catch fire, just some worse case scenarios. I am getting images of Enschede here, complete blocks being wiped off the face of the earth. I have the feeling that somehow, somewhere things must (have gone or) go awfully wrong.