Taitung road safety experts hold contest to crown slowest scooter rider

2022-07-25

Road safety experts in Taitung recently held a contest to find the slowest scooter rider. That’s right, contestants had to take as long as possible to complete the “race.” The winning contestant managed to spend a good 32 seconds on just 15 meters of road. The tournament aimed to encourage riders to take riding lessons, building skills and improving road safety. Never say safety and fun don’t go hand in hand.

A student rides a motorbike down a thin green strip, wobbling to and fro. Pressing carefully on the accelerator, but steadying with the brake, is the way to maintain balance. Hitting a black line is a no-no. This is the Straight Line Balance Scooter Riding Championship at Taitung Motor Vehicles Supervision Station, where students are duking it out for the title of slowest rider.

The champion managed to take 30 whole seconds to complete the line. The audience demanded an encore. You can see how he’s holding his breath as he sways side to side, continuously joggling the accelerator pedal. In the end he broke his own record and managed a new score of 32 seconds for a 15-meter “race.”

Lu Shao-cheng
Champion scooter rider
You have to relax but hold your breath. You have to grip the brake well, keep balanced and use your core.

The station organized this slow-riding contest to encourage people to brush up their riding skills in proper classes, with professional instruction from experts. Contestants had to ride as slowly as possible down a 15-meter strip just 30 centimeters wide. The prize was NT$5,000 cash and lots of students tried their luck. But riding slowly requires a steady hand. It can be harder than riding fast. This rider was braking too much, making his whole bike shudder along, ending with a wail of frustration.

Hsiao Chang-ching
Taitung Motorbike Racing Association
The front wheel should be nice and full, and the back broad, to be stable. Then it depends on your physical coordination. If you have that you’ll probably do great, you can get it to stop on a short line like this.

This unique contest was both a way to get scooter riders up to speed – or down to speed? – and to blow off some steam in the summer sun.

比誰騎得慢! 機車慢速競賽"窄道"考驗平衡

2022-07-25

誰說騎車一定要比誰的速度快！台東監理站和駕訓班業者，舉辦一場機車慢速競賽，希望大家去考駕照之前，可以先上課練習，而這項比賽，是要參賽者在15公尺長、30公分寬的賽道內，比賽誰騎得最慢，前三名能獲得獎金，吸引許多人來報名參加，最後由一名學生，以30秒的成績奪冠。

民眾騎著摩托車，在小小的綠色跑道上，左搖右晃，小心翼翼地催油門、按剎車，維持平衡，就怕壓到一旁的黑色管線。這是由台東監理站舉辦的機車直線平衡王競賽，要比賽看誰騎得最慢。

比賽時，以30秒奪冠的騎士，應大家的要求，再表演一次，就看他屏住呼吸，左扭右扭，不停調整龍頭，最後又打破自己的紀錄，以32秒的成績，騎完15公尺的距離。

[[冠軍同學呂紹丞]]
“放輕鬆，要憋氣。然後煞車要握好，保持平衡，用核心。”

舉辦機車慢速競賽，是監理站為了要鼓勵民眾，參加機車駕訓班，讓專業教練指導騎車觀念。參賽者要在15公尺長、30公分寬的賽道內，比賽誰騎得最慢，冠軍可以獲得5000元的現金獎，吸引不少民眾參賽。不過，想要騎得慢，又騎得穩，沒有那麼容易，像這名騎士，不停剎車，整個人都在摩托車上跳啊跳，最後只能懊悔大叫。

[[台東縣賽車競速協會主委蕭長青]]
“(前輪)很飽實、後面要寬，然後才能夠穩定，再靠著我們身體的那個協調。這樣應該是成績就會很好，就可以讓它停頓在這一個這麼短的線上。”

趣味競賽之外，也希望民眾透過駕訓考照，養成正確的交通觀念，保障自身行車安全。