Video shows American skater perform illegal stunt in Taipei

影像顯示美國滑板者在台北非法競技

Police say American daredevil's skateboard stunt on Taipei underpass was illegal, perpetrator to be fined

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Police are investigating the culprit behind a skateboard stunt illegally performed between two busy streets in Taipei after a video of the incident was released earlier this week.

On Tuesday (Dec. 3), a Taiwanese skate shop called 台灣 delta skate supply posted a video on Facebook showing a skateboarder doing a death-defying stunt on a busy Taipei street. The video spread rapidly on social media and caught the attention of the Taipei City Police, who say that they will identify and fine those responsible for violating the law.

In the video, a foreign skater can be seen poised with his skateboard on top of the entrance to the Fuxing North Road underpass near Dazhi Bridge in Taipei City's Zhongshan District. Suddenly, the skateboarder leaps off the top of the structure and lands on a concrete divider that tapers downward like an extremely narrow skateboard ramp.

Just as he lands, a white delivery truck can be seen plowing forward. A slight miscalculation could have led to the skater falling onto the road, possibly to be crushed by the oncoming truck.

Police said that the man's actions constituted a violation of Article 78 of the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). They said that even though he was on a wheeled type of sports equipment, he was considered a pedestrian and was in breach of paragraph 4, which prohibits "running, chasing around, playing, sitting, lying, squatting, or standing on roadways with heavy traffic or at railroad crossings in a manner that impedes traffic."

The clip was from a 21-minute-long video released on Monday (Dec. 2) titled "You Good" which features stunts by American Red Bull skate squad members Jamie Foy, 23, Zion Wright, 20, and Alex Midler, 21, during a trip to Taiwan. However, the caption below the video of the controversial stunt on the underpass includes another American Red Bull skate squad member, Ryan Sheckler, 29, who apparently also took part in the trip.

In accordance with the law, police said that they will impose a fine of NT$300. They said that in addition to strengthening monitoring of the underpass entrance, they will track down the foreign national involved and levy a fine against him.