The Olympic Games 2008 will be held in Beijing, China. I am an American and a Beijing resident. I have prepared a little primer to acclimate visitors to the traffic situation in Beijing.
Drivers in China and especially in Beijing drive aggressively. Cutting off other vehicles is common. There is not much courtesy on the roads. Drivers in China seem to be at ease with this kind of driving. They seem to expect it from others and most engage in this type of aggressive driving.
Beijing drivers tend to pay scant attention to green crosswalk signs. You should not presume you can cross the road just because you have a pedestrian crosswalk green light. Most drivers expect pedestrians to get out of their way, even when the pedestrians have the legal right-of-way. The safest way to cross a road is by pedestrian flyover (overhead) bridge, but if there are none around and you have to cross a road, you should wait until a group of other pedestrians are crossing the road and stay in the middle of the group and you will be fairly safe. You will not be safe at all if you merely rely on the legal right-of-way as indicated by the pedestrian crosswalk green light.
Horns are used extensively. Drivers honk their horns when entering an intersection to alert other drivers, especially if the intersection is not regulated. Running red lights is common too, and when a driver runs a red light he often blows his horn to warn other drivers that he is not stopping for the red light. Drivers all over China seem to be a bit "horn happy." They commonly use their horns to try to get other vehicles to move out of their way. Even when the car or cars in front of them are blocked in and cannot move, the drivers still honk their horns excessively. Fortunately this does not seem to incite road rage in China.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Don't get any fancy ideas that your traffic courtesy will catch on in China. You are not going the change the habits of a nation by trying to set a good example. In fact, you will cause more trouble and be more likely to get into an accident by trying to use American style traffic courtesy in China.
It took me a while to get used to the way things are over here. But now I am getting into the swing of things more and more. For example, traffic is chaotic but there is some order in the chaos.
Let me explain. At first I was riding my bicycle dangerously because I was being cautious and considerate of other bicycle riders, pedestrians, and motor vehicle traffic. But then I began to notice that when I rode using common road courtesy (not extremely aggressively as is the standard way here) that other people did not know how to react and in fact I was creating a dangerous condition by being polite and considerate because it caught others off-guard. Nobody would expect you to let the other guy go first. Nobody would expect you to give anybody a break of any kind. If anyone does drive or ride showing common courtesy to others, you will almost certainly cause an accident because nobody will be expecting it and their actions will anticipate you not showing any courtesy. For example, if you stop for a pedestrian in the crosswalk, you will be rear-ended because nobody would expect you to stop for a pedestrian. Pedestrians can jump out of the way when you honk your horn. It is far safer to ride and drive like everybody else.
Jam on the brakes - China by InsideGrandPrix
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/685002
Drivers in China and especially in Beijing drive aggressively. Cutting off other vehicles is common. There is not much courtesy on the roads. Drivers in China seem to be at ease with this kind of driving. They seem to expect it from others and most engage in this type of aggressive driving.
Beijing drivers tend to pay scant attention to green crosswalk signs. You should not presume you can cross the road just because you have a pedestrian crosswalk green light. Most drivers expect pedestrians to get out of their way, even when the pedestrians have the legal right-of-way. The safest way to cross a road is by pedestrian flyover (overhead) bridge, but if there are none around and you have to cross a road, you should wait until a group of other pedestrians are crossing the road and stay in the middle of the group and you will be fairly safe. You will not be safe at all if you merely rely on the legal right-of-way as indicated by the pedestrian crosswalk green light.
Horns are used extensively. Drivers honk their horns when entering an intersection to alert other drivers, especially if the intersection is not regulated. Running red lights is common too, and when a driver runs a red light he often blows his horn to warn other drivers that he is not stopping for the red light. Drivers all over China seem to be a bit "horn happy." They commonly use their horns to try to get other vehicles to move out of their way. Even when the car or cars in front of them are blocked in and cannot move, the drivers still honk their horns excessively. Fortunately this does not seem to incite road rage in China.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Don't get any fancy ideas that your traffic courtesy will catch on in China. You are not going the change the habits of a nation by trying to set a good example. In fact, you will cause more trouble and be more likely to get into an accident by trying to use American style traffic courtesy in China.
It took me a while to get used to the way things are over here. But now I am getting into the swing of things more and more. For example, traffic is chaotic but there is some order in the chaos.
Let me explain. At first I was riding my bicycle dangerously because I was being cautious and considerate of other bicycle riders, pedestrians, and motor vehicle traffic. But then I began to notice that when I rode using common road courtesy (not extremely aggressively as is the standard way here) that other people did not know how to react and in fact I was creating a dangerous condition by being polite and considerate because it caught others off-guard. Nobody would expect you to let the other guy go first. Nobody would expect you to give anybody a break of any kind. If anyone does drive or ride showing common courtesy to others, you will almost certainly cause an accident because nobody will be expecting it and their actions will anticipate you not showing any courtesy. For example, if you stop for a pedestrian in the crosswalk, you will be rear-ended because nobody would expect you to stop for a pedestrian. Pedestrians can jump out of the way when you honk your horn. It is far safer to ride and drive like everybody else.
Jam on the brakes - China by InsideGrandPrix
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/685002
