"They are not good drivers"

In a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, China's hazardous driving is spotlighted and I couldn't agree more with what the author had to say. China is a booming country and along with the new high rise apartment buildings and new fashion malls popping up everywhere, so are new drivers. China recently passed the United States to become the world's top buyer of new vehicles, nearly 50,000 a day. And although China currently has 40% fewer cars on the road than the United States, it doubles the number of people that die in road accidents each year. Driving in China certainly is not the same thing as driving in America. There are so many more things to watch out for here, the same rules simply don't apply. Many pedestrians act as if the auto revolution never happened and many motorists don't obey common traffic rules. I like to think of the roads in China as "survival of the fittest". Usually the biggest vehicle wins. Then theres the difference between cars, electric-scooters and bicycles. While few cars obey traffic rules, scooters and bicycles definitely do not.

Because of the sheer number of people living in China, if a car stopped at a pedestrian crossing, they might be there for hours waiting for the crowds of people to part. Cars that miss an exit on the highway will often slam on their brakes, throw the car in reverse and stop traffic to get back to their exit. When making a right or left turn, cars do not yield to oncoming traffic but force other cars out of their way. Lane markers are a suggested rule to follow but don't mean much. I often see cars attempting a 3 point turn in the middle of road, blocking all lanes of traffic. I regularly take public buses and we are often stopped in traffic with a car directly facing us, almost as if its a duel. I chuckle to myself because the bus will always win, its the biggest. When crossing the road, it doesn't matter if I am in a cross walk or not, I have to look in all directions and for all types of vehicles. Usually if a motorist sees you, they will avoid you, but I never depend on them.

I often see accidents on the road that easily could have been avoided. People just don't obey simple rules like yielding when making a turn, using turn signals, stopping at red lights and staying in your lane. China is far from becoming a country that obeys traffic laws. If the rules are not enforced (which they aren't), people will continue to drive recklessly. I have no desire to become a driver here and even riding my bike on the streets is stressful!

Read the full article at: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/20/business/la-fi-china-crash-20110421