Driving in Taiwan: licence, roads and tolls

Distance-based eTag tolling on the freeways, and scooters in every gap.

• Freeway tolls are charged per kilometre by gantry through the eTag system; hire cars carry a tag and the charge is settled at the end.
• Scooters occupy the inside lane, the shoulder and the space you were about to use. In cities they also queue in front of cars at traffic lights - that box is theirs, not yours.
• The alcohol limit is 0.03 %, and penalties escalate steeply above it.
• Mountain roads are superb and slow. The Central Cross-Island and the road to Alishan take hours longer than the distance suggests, and typhoon damage closes sections for months.
• Scooter hire usually needs a local licence even where a car does not; an International Driving Permit alone is often refused for anything over 50 cc.