This extraordinary video, recorded by chance on a camera mounted on the dashboard of a second car following behind, shows just how lucky the first driver was.
The boulder, weighing hundreds of tonnes and as almost as big as a house, rolled down the hillside near Keelung city in a landslide triggered by heavy rain.
Floodwaters rose to a depth of 10 feet and the storm also disrupted air and rail traffic, as well as forcing offices and schools to shut.
Several landslides have been recorded during the spate of wild weather, but this is the most dramatic to have been captured on camera.
Rocks began moving at the top of the hillside as the wet earth made them unstable.
The drivers below were apparently unaware of the danger – until the huge boulder smashed down onto the road causing a bomb-like explosion of mud and rock.
It shows the lucky motorist slamming on his brakes and having the presence of mind to switch on his hazard warning lights as the boulder rocked to a standstill beside his car.
It even teeters alarmingly over the vehicle before finally coming to a standstill.
He remains in the vehicle for a few moments, then steps out to stare at the boulder which had come so close to claiming his life. Amazingly, no one was injured.
In another incident, 19 people were injured when a train was derailed in the bad weather.
The six-carriage train, carrying around 250 passengers, hit the mudslides as it was approaching a tunnel in Pingtung county, the Taiwan Railway Administration said.
In 2009 at least 63 Taiwanese villagers were buried alive by mudslides triggered by typhoon Morakot which ravaged the country.
