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perjp
Squeeker
Joined: June 03, 2004
Posts: 11
Status: Offline
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 Posted:
Feb 11, 2005 - 11:50 PM |
 
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| Post subject: Shanghai's traffic conditions |
After spending quite some time with Shanghai's somewhat "wild west"-ish traffic conditions, I've started pondering what kind of traffic regulations actually exist, and how they are enforced...
- What kind of tests do you need to pass in order to get a driver's license?
- What is the point of pedestrian crossings (zebra crossings). Not a single car bothers to stop anyway, so there's no real point is there?
- Where I'm from, whenever you make a turn at an intersection, you're supposed to let whoever is currently crossing the road in your new direction cross the road first. Here it's generally the opposite, and quite a few drivers seem to make quite an effort to try and ram whoever is in their way. Quite a few drivers have also been very nearly successful in ramming.
- I've noticed that in X-intersections, whenever one direction changes to red, the other direction instantly changes to green. Add this to the fact the every single time the light changes, there seems to be at least one taxi driving on a red light, and one taxi in the other direction starting up before his light is green... In Europe (and most other places I assume), there is generally a small pause where both directions are red in order to clear out the intersection first.
Chinese are generally proud to proclaim (with no apparent sense of irony) that in China safety is first (安全第一). You need only spend a couple of minutes in a Shanghai taxi to prove this wrong... I'm exposed to bad traffic conditions every single day here, I have a theory that if Shanghai's traffic conditions where just a bit more civilized my overall impression of the city would improve immensly. |
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Edgewood
FooSlinger
Joined: Jan 28, 2004
Posts: 3909
Location: Colonial Shanghai
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Feb 12, 2005 - 12:03 PM |
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It takes 2 weeks to get a licence here. It's supposed to be longer, but that's the reality.
Traffic lights, Christmas tree lights, they're all very pretty. And that's it.
Chinese drivers, as part of the licencing procedure, have the base of their skull surgically fused to their spine, making it impossible to turn their head even a millimetre.
Chinese drive in the same way that bats fly and dolphins swim: Using echolocation. That's what the horn is for. |
_________________
Conlige suspectos semper habitos |
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Andreas
Board Royalty
Joined: Feb 27, 2004
Posts: 6755
Location: 31 N 121 E
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Feb 12, 2005 - 12:23 PM |
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Chinese Driving Rules:
Turn signals will give away your next move. A real Chinese driver never uses them.
Under no circumstances should you leave a safe distance between you and the car in front of you, or the space will be filled in by somebody else putting you in an even more dangerous situation.
Crossing two or more lanes in a single lane-change is considered "going with the flow."
The faster you drive through a red light, the smaller the chance you have of getting hit.
Never get in the way of an older car that needs extensive bodywork repairs.
Braking is to be done as hard and late as possible to ensure that your ABS kicks in, giving a nice, relaxing foot massage as the brake pedal pulsates.
For those of you without ABS, it's a chance to stretch your legs.
Electronic traffic warning signs are not there to provide useful
information. They are only there to make China look high-tech, and to
distract you from seeing the police radar car parked on the emergency belt.
Never pass on the left when you can pass on the right.
Speed limits are arbitrary figures, given only as suggestions, and are
apparently not enforceable during rush hour.
Always slow down and rubberneck when you see an accident, or even if someone is just changing a tire.
Throwing litter on the roads adds color to the landscape and gives highway crews something to clean up.
It is assumed that police cars passing at high speed may be followed in the event you need to make up a few minutes on your way to work.
Heavy snow, ice, fog, and rain are no reasons to change any of the
previously listed rules. These weather conditions are God's way of ensuring a natural selection process for body shops, junkyards, and new vehicle sales. |
_________________
http://strandedmariner.com |
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