TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Art imitates life in Taiwan as a viral video about riding modified motorcycles, romance, and the pursuit of social status has led police to issue warnings to riders, amid a crackdown on dangerous driving along a route featured in the video.
The two-part video “Life of a Mountain Road Monkey (???????)” debuted Sunday (Aug. 13) on YouTube and has already amassed nearly 6 million views. It tells the story of a young Yamaha motorcyclist working the night shift at a convenience store who takes a loan to buy his girlfriend a modified motorbike, only to have her leave him for a more handsome Ducati rider.
Kaohsiung police on Friday said they were concerned by the video, because the behavior depicted is commonly seen on route 182 in the city’s Neimen District, per Business Today. Police appealed to the public to refrain from driving on mountain roads to follow the trend of the video, and said they have begun to implement more speed and noise checks on the section of road.
A large part of the story takes place on Taiwan Provincial Highway 7B that runs between New Taipei’s Sanxia and Taoyuan’s Daxi, a popular route for weekend motorcyclists and photographers who take pictures of other riders. Daxi Police said they had issued 936 fines to motorcyclists on this section of road since June for speeding and excess noise, and there had been many serious accidents, per Tai Sounds.
In 2016, Taiwan’s transport ministry sought to reduce deaths and injuries caused by “drag racing” on the road by installing median strips and barriers.
Despite police concerns, the video’s creator, Eric Duan, said the characters and situations depicted are all entirely fictitious. “If you find any similarities, it means that you are also having a miserable life,” Duan said.
In addition to the police reaction, Family Mart has used the opportunity to show its social media savvy, telling Facebook users that the company’s name remains the same, despite how it is depicted in the video.
