China Road Rules

Posted: Thursday, June 28, 2007 2:00 PM
Filed Under: Beijing, China

By Warren Pettine, NBC News Researcher, Beijing Bureau

On my first trip to China, my cab slammed into the side of a van. The second trip, I was hit while crossing a street – luckily no injuries. So I had plenty of personal interest when I was assigned to cover a forum on road safety in China.

Automobile accidents account for 3,000 deaths per day worldwide. As China gobbles up steel to produce automobiles, its contribution to this number is starting to look like its contribution to global warming: huge. Every five minutes in China a person dies of road traffic injuries.

Cyclists cross the east section of Chang'an street in Beijing

Reinhard Krause / Reuters

Cyclists cross a street in Beijing.

Injuries and violence in China, grouped together in World Health Organization reports, now cause more deaths and disabilities than disease and nutrition combined. Traffic injuries account for 25 percent of injury-related deaths in China, surpassed only by suicide at 28 percent.

To shine light on the problem, the WHO this week organized a forum on road safety in China. The event brought together members of the seventeen agencies responsible for road safety, along with foreign experts for a series of lectures and discussion sessions.

Rampant road accidents
The conference room was filled with more than 120 people from China and abroad. Every 10 minutes, an attendant would appear with a bottle of hot water to fill our tea cups to the brim with green tea. During the break we were served Nescafe – a Chinese staple – and cookies.

The Chinese government estimates that 45 percent of road traffic deaths are due to poor driving. The majority of those deaths are pedestrians or bicyclists.

Official rules state that to obtain a driver’s license in Beijing, the driver must attend 58 hours of practical instruction and a week of theory classes. In practice, according to a number of Chinese interviewed, often a small bribe will secure a license nicely. As with many other aspects of Chinese society, corruption is rife.

The World Bank estimates China road traffic fatalities increased 243 percent between 1975 and 1998. Predictions are fatalities will rise another 98 percent by 2020 unless preventative measures are taken.

Ray Shuey, a former assistant police commissioner of Victoria, Australia, spoke about the effectiveness of cameras, advertising campaigns and enforcement on reducing accident rates and how those methods might help in China.

Long way to go
Swerving between trucks and a median, going the wrong way down a one-way street and creating an extra turning lane on the way back from the conference in a cab, I had trouble imagining those kinds of measures gaining much traction here.

Crazy traffic patterns in China have even inspired video on YouTube. Click above to watch footage of traffic at an intersection in Zhaoqing, Guangodong Province.

Part of the problem, an event organizer told me, was the low priority of road safety when compared to other problems like HIV/AIDS or SARS.

China it seems, as the saying for so many problems goes, has too many people, especially when they all take to the road.

Until the forum’s advice is implemented, I’m looking into extra health insurance.

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Comments

Dear Warren, I agree with you I think you do need extra health insurance. After reading about your experiences with car accidents and crazy driving I am glad you were not injured in any of these occurences. Its obvious that these accidents are the result of poor driving and no wonder there has been so many traffic fatalities. These people need to slow down and watch where they are going. Also obey the traffic laws. I hope that there are some improvements made to this situation and the streets get a little safer. In the meantime be careful out on the street Warren! Wear that seatbelt! Peace to all!

Lisa McNeil,Alpharetta,Georgia (Sent Thursday, June 28, 2007 5:39 PM)

What's amazing is not how bad the traffic is, but how good it is. The streets accommodate trucks, buses, cars, bicycles, all manner of strange vehicles, children, old folks, pedestrians, chickens and other animals, all going their own crazy ways--and most surviving. The big problem is that China's streets were made for people--not cars, but the cars (and car-crazy drivers) are taking over...Instead of making cars and their needs a priority, China should kick the car off the road and retain the streets for the people. (I have lived in China for several years, so I speak from experience.)

Dayahka,Aberdeen,Washington (Sent Thursday, June 28, 2007 6:33 PM)

you call this footage from Zhaoquing chaotic ?? You must see the scene in any major Indian city - Mumbai ,New Delhi >It will put this footage to shame .

arun Kothari New York (Sent Thursday, June 28, 2007 6:40 PM)

I lived in Shanghai for a year and a half and since I did ride a bike I can recall dozens of times that I almost found myself the victim of a bus, truck, taxi, motorcycle or swarm of pedestrians. Once I was in a car with a hired driver who realized he'd taken the wrong freeway offramp, rather than continuing and getting back on later he simply pulled a u-turn and headed directly into oncoming traffic (it was 12:30am so luckily there was only one or two other cars on the ramp at the time). Another time I saw a motorcyclists flip over the median and a female pedestrian get hit by a car. I belive the dangerous driving ability or lack thereof of the Chinese driver stems from the general chinese attitude of "every man for himself." Unless you're family, you're just another guy in the way.

Kaili, Orange County, CA (Sent Thursday, June 28, 2007 6:56 PM)

I spend most of my time in China (Shanghai) and can only say "amen". I warn visitors that, as a pedestrian, you under NO circumstances, have the right of way. A striped crosswalk, a green "walk" signal, a whistle-blowing and motioning cop, have no meaning whatever, if a driver wants to have his way. My children are forbidden to cross the street without me or another adult. Maybe these conditions have been created as an adjunct to the one-child policy, to limit population growth.

Chris Malone, Seattle, Washington (Sent Thursday, June 28, 2007 7:35 PM)

Where was the traffic light? NONE!!

K.Moore, Pittsburgh, PA (Sent Thursday, June 28, 2007 7:53 PM)

Thanks for the video. It really makes me feel homesick for Jinzhou, the town I lived in for two years in China. Chinese traffic flows like water, not like a military band routine, with sudden starts and stops, and 90 degree turns.

When I first moved to China, I was in serious danger of traffic annihilation, because I was operating under American traffic rules, and not Chinese ones. For example, in China honking tells you that others see you. If you stop suddenly or try and jump to one side, you are very likely to be run down, because that is not the expected response to a honk.

As long as you remember to ooze your way around, merging in with others of your kind (be them pedestrians, bikes, etc.) and don't do anything suddenly, then the system works fine. It did me a few gray hairs, though, before I learned the rules!

Lisa M., Scottsdale, AZ (Sent Thursday, June 28, 2007 8:00 PM)

You think that's crazy? In Shanghai, China, the freeway entrances and exits criss cross!!! I didn't believe it until I experienced it - there was not even a yield sign, since there are so many cars, the speed is relatively slow (about 20 mph) and the vehicles just take turn going on and exiting the freeway. This shows you China has a long way to go in taking over the world, they don't have the infrastructure, and remember we are talking about Shanghai, the NY of China. All the talk about China keeps people from the reality: China is still a third world country!

Chris, San Francisco, CA (Sent Thursday, June 28, 2007 8:34 PM)

Poor driving is not the only problem. Stupid pedestrians who don't follow the lights and cross between busses on red lights, bicyclists out in the middle of the road when there's a perfectly good lane JUST FOR BICYCLES. When it comes to bad driving the worst are the bus drivers who race to the next bus stop and cut off busses on the same run because whoever picks up more passengers gets more pay. Idiots in luxury cars come second, just because they have a benz, BMW, or Audi (the worst of the bunch)they think they can cut off pedestrians crossing on a green or drive down the wrong side of the road. I've thrown many rocks at these morons. People who just scratched eachother's bumpers get out of their cars and scream at eachother until the police come (even though China's stupid traffic laws say you have to leave cars where they are after an accident, like... oh... the middle of an intersection). People who can't even line up to buy a ticket to the subway shouldn't be allowed to drive.

Lee, Beijing (Sent Thursday, June 28, 2007 9:06 PM)

The uniqueness about living in Asia is that we don't have a govt telling us what to do, when to do it, how to do, and where to do it.
Actually, in the US, the govt tells us what NOT to do, when NOT do do it, how NOT to do it, and where NOT to do it.
Americans seems to enjoy having every aspect of their lives regualated.
I watched the video. I didn't see any accidents. If you visit China, you have to pay attention. You can't walk do the streets without watching. It is a matter of living thru the day.
But, you aren't gonna regulate Asian nations into docile little Americans. Pray tell, I hope it doesn't happen.

Mark Findler, Phx, AZ (Sent Thursday, June 28, 2007 9:10 PM)

Until recently virtually no Chinese had cars or had ever driven before. Now there are so many drivers on the road the cities are being choked with smog. As I look out my window I can barely see across the street because of a thick soup of gray mess. I know this is primarily from cars because when the government 'asks' drivers to use other transportation when the Olympic committee comes, magically we get blue sky.

The clear issue in China is that there are millions of cars on the road that we not here 15 years ago. That means there are millions of new drivers. Imagine if everyone on the road in America was 17-years old with a shiny new permit. People would look around and see that other cars were doing crazy things and it would become normal. With this culture perpetuating itself things are unlikely to change any time soon.

ChinaExpat.com

Josh, Beijing, China (Sent Thursday, June 28, 2007 9:26 PM)

Why do they bother to paint lines on the streets? I don't think anyone should ever again be blamed for ethic slurring when the say; chinese are BAD DRIVERS!

TURK FONTAINE, SAN FRANCISCO (Sent Thursday, June 28, 2007 9:53 PM)

I agree that traffic is horrible. I am working in Shenzhen/DongGuan area and commute between those two areas a lot and have seen plenty of stuff that can best summed up as OIC (Only In China).

Stuff like: People backing up on the freeway when they missed an exit, doubled parked on a no parking street, etc.

There are plenty of laws that are well written to govern traffic in China, but the biggest issue is the lack of enforcements. Traffic cops are quite hard to spot, even in Shenzhen area.

Anyway, to survive driving in this insanity, one can't help but to play at this game. I've learned during living/working in Taiwan the ways to survive in this traffic. The basics? Drive like you would never drive in the states...

Ryan Laveen, Arizona but now in Shenzhen China (Sent Thursday, June 28, 2007 10:13 PM)

Hehe that is interesting. I spent a year in China, and I remember that crazy traffic. Crossing the road was like playing 'Frogger'. I never felt unsafe though...

B. Allred (Sent Thursday, June 28, 2007 10:47 PM)

I get a little tired of all the negative comments made concerning China. I was in three cities in China and I don't think I noticed a single accident during my 11-day stay. It was 2002, and I'm sure China has more cars on the road now (2007), but maybe it was partly because I was standing on the wrong corner.
At least China has a 58-hour training program before receiving the driver's license. Here in the U.S., you can get your license by just practicing on your own and taking the test. And then there's the situation where some of our elderly folk receive their license when they shouldn't be behind the wheel any longer.
And of course, we should mention that some of our states feel okay about giving illegal immigrants a valid driver's license.
What about AIDS in the U.S.? Or don't we have that?
Almost on a weekly basis, there is a bad traffic accident on Interstate 75 in the Sarasota area. Just today, I saw a truck turned upside down on the highway.
And I thought it was a little ironic that in the five-minute video on that intersecion of a city in Guangdong Province, even though the motorbikes were weaving in and around the different vehicles, I didn't see a single accident.
If you want to write an article on traffic accidents and AIDS, you can get your material right here in the good ole U.S.A.

Herb O'Fallon, Sarasota, Florida (Sent Thursday, June 28, 2007 11:18 PM)

I have lived in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province now for over 3 years and do occassionally drive here. The video is graphic evidence of what I call vehicular ballet. Few horns, just going with the flow. It also points out one of my other points, white lines on the road, merely suggestions, traffic signals, merely recommendations. It is interesting living in a country where the entire country is learning to drive at the same time...

Craig, Guangzhou, Guangdong (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 1:36 AM)

The very real fear of being decapitated whenever I cross the street, has me holding my breath until I get across. Crossing the street is absolutely the scariest thing I have encountered living in China. The best advice I can give is this; do NOT hestitate! Hesitate and you die. Also, as a passenger in a vehicle, just close your eyes and you will not die of a heart attack. What you can't see, won't scare you or make you lose your lunch. Every time you get in a taxi, remember this, you are putting your life in a strager's hands. So don't freak out unless you want to make the driver so nervous that he'll accidentally get you both killed. It doesn't have to be a horrible experience. Just think of it as a "roller coaster ride", think Magic Mountain and you'll be fine!

Denise Kaneta, Shanghai, China (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 1:53 AM)

great video and article. Have they heard of stop lights?

d (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 3:20 AM)

Having just returned from China I have experienced the traffic problems personally. If there were just some basic rules followed there would a lot less of a problem. Pedestrians do not have the right of way. The white lines painted on road are waste of time they are ignored. Many of the Four Way intersections do not have basic stop signs and why does every young Taxi driver think that Americans are impressed by their fast driving. I have been in a taxi doing 130km per hour when it was clearly mark 80km per hour. And all this without road rage maybe the rest of the world is wrong.

Kurt Boesch, Vancouver Wash. (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 3:50 AM)

I have lived in the most populous part of China for 6 months now, with 2 months to go if I survive more hair raising journeys amongst the traffic. I love the bicycle culture, but riding in traffic that comes from every direction except up (will that be next?) can be really scary! I ride my bike everywhere and have learned to make my way through traffic by give and take. Sometimes taking possession of space and insisting on plunging ahead and sometimes giving in to each vehicle in the flow to make it through. This is the strategy that makes traffic move here.
Vehicles aplenty there are in this small city of about 2 million more or less depending on which resident I ask. Private cars and taxis, bicycles, motorcycles and electric bicycles, some with multiple passengers, hand drawn carts and wagons with heavy loads, their human bearers straining to keep momentum, bicycles with attached wagons piled high with goods, pedicabs, pedestrians, big busses, small local busses, huge cargo trucks, family trucks with open, spouting radiators and long, exposed fanbelts whirring around (you want to avoid getting close to them) all converge at intersections.
Horns honking, bells ringing, people exclaiming their way through traffic. I can never let my eye wander for a second or there will inevitably be someone in front of me to run into - cars can go the wrong way down the street, cars drive on the sidewalk, in the pedestrian/bike lanes which run alongside the main roads in many cities. Any vehicle can apparently travel in any direction anywhere. It's my job to avoid them, to give and take.
I have been on busses whose drivers manuever them like sports cars, passing lines of busses and trucks on the highway running through a town with another line of traffic approaching in the opposite direction. Fortunately so far they have yielded off to the shoulder to avoid a head-on and no 2 masses of matter have occupied the same space simultaneously. The carts, wagons, bicycles, motorcycles, electric bikes, pedestrians, etc. use the shoulder and main lanes of these highways along with the big vehicles. And many without lights at night so night travel is particularly hair-raising. It's amazing to me so much of what I considered reckless driving passes as normal here, and most survive without a scratch. I have seen peddlers with their goods on the back of their bicycles stop, and park their bikes in the middle of the traffic lane on a main highway through a town! Motorists just go around-give and take! Fortunately I haven't seen an accident yet and hope I never will. I hear sirens often though and wonder.
Wish me luck for my next 2 months.

Kay Twain Jiangsu China (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 4:46 AM)

A problem here in Canada is foreigners can pretty much buy a drivers licence and of course through one of their own nationalites. They read driving instructions, do a written test in their own lauguage and take a road test by someone that speaks the person's native tonge without verifying that the person wanting a drivers licence can even read ENGLISH. Also people from other countries that don't have weather conditions like we do in Canada like winter don't have a clue how to dive in those road conditions. In China FOREIGNERS are not allowed to drive any car. NO wonder

Rae, Toronto, Canada (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 5:42 AM)

I live in Zhaoqing where the images were taken. Just the way it is. I ride my bike all over the city. Keeps me alert and my mind and body active. Probably more exciting than white-watering or anything like that. The key to it all is that everyone drives the same so you know what to expect. And as you can see they are only going about 30 mph.

Ray Richardson (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 5:46 AM)

More research needs to be done to explain why asians in general are the worst drivers in any country. Even on our little island asians are remarkable in their inability to drive properly. I have heard this comment repeated in several major cities in the U.S. with an asian community.

Bob Greig, Hamilton, Bermuda (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 6:16 AM)

Sorry. Only about 10 mph at the intersection. 30 mph is on the straight-away.

Ray Richardson (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 6:17 AM)

I live close to Shenzhen and have witnessed a few accidents. Mostly bicycles and small motorcycles hit by large trucks. Everyone walked away with minor injuries. My rules for China traffic: all the laws are suggestions. Stop lights only have meaning when there are cameras installed. Sit down, Shut up, Hold On. They all drive like this, so they know what to expect from other drivers. The flow is much better than the U.S. If some of the driving here were done in the U.S. road rage would be tremendous. The worst driving I witness are the Merceds, BMW, and Porsche drivers in their mid 40-50 range with money. They have no idea about sharing the road like the taxis, etc.

All in all, I mince once in a while, and wear a seat belt all the time. Remember they were taught to drive in these conditions

Mike, Blaine, WA. (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 7:35 AM)

the video is the best REFUTE against the asian driver stereotype, ever.

driving like that without a single casualty takes serious SKILLS, people.

Audi RS4, New York, NY (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 8:21 AM)

Holy Schnikeys! Clearly, even after doscovering the usefulness of the car, the Chinese never discovered the usefulness of things like traffic lights, the laws governing right of way, or stopping for pedestrians. I can't even imagine the amount of defensive driving skills needed to may one not lose one's mind while trying to drive in that circus. And I thought DC drivers were bad...

Valerie L., Arlington, VA (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 10:10 AM)

I Lived in Taiwan for nine years, Korea for three and Japan for one. I drove everywhere except in Japan. The rule is to always expect the unexpected, because it will happen. People from other countries need to be very defendive in their driving. Always keep your mind on the road and everything around you. Let the passangers do the sight-seeing. Speed limits are for reference only. The bigger the vehicle, the more right of way they have. I enjoyed my time in Asia and will never forget it. The people are Great! Be alert!

Bob, King George, Virginia (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 10:11 AM)

It's hard to encourage people to be safe when there is soo little regard for human life, their attitude is..... "so what, he's dead, let's move on, someone else will replace him soon".

Shooham Eschmidt (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 10:22 AM)

I have taken a two-hour taxi ride at night in China, and barely avoided three major accidents in that span of time. In two of the instances, trucks had broken down in the middle of the freeway (one on an exit ramp) and, without warning lights of any kind, the driver and passengers were pushing the vehicle down the road. The cabbie was luckily able to avoid hitting them at the last second. We also came very, very close to the side of a truck as the cabbie ignored the signs of road work ahead, then unwisely tried to speed up and merge in front of the truck instead of driving defensively and reducing speed to get behind the truck... I can only imagine the fun China will have when reading, putting on make-up, eating, and using cell phones while driving becomes de rigeur like it has in the U.S.

Rolf, Columbus, Ohio (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 10:25 AM)

My wife is from the Philippines and I always find the traffic and driving in Manila to be a hair raising experience also! When we visit the family and must navigate through Manila I lose years off my life on every trip.

Alvin, Wichita KS (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 10:27 AM)

My dear friend, I'm from India, which also has the same kind of traffic sense in most parts of it. Though now almost all metro's have traffic lights, and people do respect the benefits of traffic sense.. However, the reason why the kind of traffic pattern (as you captured in the video) works, is because the speeds inIndia are too slow..compared to US standards and hence, the injuries suffered, even in the worst case are not so bad.. slow is ..in the range of 30-40 kilometers per hour..which is like 20 mph...

It is only on the major country highways, where the lack of safety and lack of control causes accidents that are fatal...

However to somebody sitting in USA this video can seem chaotic, once you get used to that slow life..slow driving, you know it works.... and yes, I'm not defending what is there..just telling you why it is..and what it is...

Bhavesh Patel, Maryland. (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 10:34 AM)

I spent 10 days in Shanghai last April. I was very impressed with the cleanliness of the infrastructure. I had only one problem with the traffic - the cab drivers were not very familiar with the street addreses since the city was growing so fast. I also spent some time in India and I can definitely say, I would rather ride in Shanghai than Mumbai. In India the rule is: If you can get the nose of the car into the opening - its yours. The lines are only suggested areas. Only stop for an accident if the car or person is severely damaged.

jeff, auburn, indiana (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 10:41 AM)

I am an American who is currently vacationing in China. I've had the pleasure of driving in this country and it is not as chaotic as one may think. When I move to pass another vehicle on any two lane road, the driver of the oncoming vehicle ALWAYS yields. The driver of the vehicle that I am passing never speeds up and even moves over to the shoulder to allow me to pass. This is driver courtesy that is nonexistant in America. In fact, Americans are the ones that need to work on their driving skills. I am dreading the day when I return to the U.S. where every sixteen year old is legal to drive but doesn't even know the meaning of parallel parking, and soccer moms can't even park their suv stright in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Maybe we should consider a 52 hour driving course for our "perfect drivers".

Marcus, FL; Guangzhou, China (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 10:50 AM)

I Think the more telling statistic was that traffic death's were second to suicide. I know they have a different culture, suicide may be "Honorable" or acceptable in China. Even so the percentage of suicides is a dramatic example of the pressures of a society not like ours.

Keith P. (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 10:53 AM)

Comedy, racial-generalizations, self-centered conjecture. WOW! All that from this little article, and so many critics came out of the woodwork...it's a sign of the times. Be careful, be patient, and think like the country you're in.

SgtTre, L.A., Calif. (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 10:54 AM)

You should try driving in Rawapindi, Pakistan, now that is some crazy driving and traffic, its like bumper cars there and 120 degrees and horns honking and people everywhere. Pretty much the whole time i was there was crazy, driving through mountain roads at night and cars no working headlights are coming the other direction or you come around a mountain and there is a heard of sheep in the road.

dan, new jersey (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 10:56 AM)

After reading about the horrable driving in China, I thought it reminded me of Miami, F.
After all both cities and their driver never drove before or had anything but a bycycle or a buro for
transportation

Hoarsen, Miami, Florida (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 10:58 AM)

The problem with looking at one culture is stereotyping. I rode a taxi in Tihuana, Mexico and did everything in the article. What about traffic in Italy? Why would the pope give his ten commandments for driving there? Americans are like spoiled children and we just expect things everywhere to be like here. What happens when good ol' American road rage catches up in China? To me, watching the video, I see people driving like that because they have Universal Health Care. Who cares what it costs to have your pelvis set in a cast for six months. The Chinese also take care of their elderly. Maybe we shouldn't be the Americans looking down at this and start thinking about how we can better our own culture. What can we bring to the table instead of taking away?

Eric Snohomish Washington (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 11:02 AM)

Well, crazy driving by the Chinese is certainly not limited to China. Just watch a Chinese driver try to drive in the calmest situation in the U.S. Or maybe they are in a rush to get to work so they can ship more poison food products to the United States.

Harley Davidson (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 11:06 AM)

Laws dont count for much in China, and that goes for driving as well
after spending 4 years in Beijing i am so glad i didnt drive, always used a taxi. When the taxi hit someone or something you just got out and hailed another taxi
What you are seeing folks (in the video) is everyday normal life in China.

Jeff B, Orlando Florida (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 11:23 AM)

Are there less accidents in China? Americans have accidents all the time, people are more worried about text messaging or cell calls than paying attn. to the road. Americans have trouble paying attention while driving too. Have you ever noticed how many people park at 4-way stops? Or what about completely stopping to merge onto the highway? Or making turns from the wrong lane? Slowing down to a green light apparently so they can sit at the red and dial that cell phone!

Ali Jordan, United States of America (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 11:24 AM)

I agree with one other commentator - it works. This is a true example of "give way, take way". Everyone is flowing with no red light and no inordinate delay. It is not what we are used to in the States.

I've driven thoughout Europe. One of my frequent stops, Malta, is by no means as dense as China, but there are few traffic lights and sometimes no signs. You learn to not speed, approach all traffic circles and interesections cautiously and give way as much as possible. It's hectic but it is fun.

Asians have a problem driving in the States due to the culture you see in the video.

Irvin Gunter (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 11:27 AM)

I've been to China twice, including Guangdong province, and have seen much worse than this! This is actually a fairly tame intersection, believe me! It's scary, no doubt, and would be humorous except for the sad fact about the traffic deaths rising. I'm glad they are having a conference; at least that shows they realize something needs to be done. By the way, I absolutely loved my trips to this amazing country and would go again at any opportunity ...

Monica, Dayton, Ohio (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 11:32 AM)

I offer up Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi in Vietnam as great examples of crazy traffic...

Charles T, New Yourk, NY (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 11:34 AM)

I feel as if bad traffic habits are almost part of the culture now. I've had my share of travel around Asia, and I remember that ever since I was little it was all a matter of how much guts you had as a pedestrian. As far as drivers are concerned, pedestrians don't have a right of way, so really it's just a big game of chicken. Although this article doesn't do much to help the bad Asian driver stereotype. Ha. thanks.

minivan (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 11:35 AM)

I have personally experienced a horrendous road accident in China (which wasn't really the driver's fault) as well as witnessing the aftermath of two fatal accidents (which were caused by bad driving.) The roads here can be terrifying. I currently live in an industrial boomtown in Shandong province. At the intersection near my apartment the police occasionally set up and flag down cars, checking drivers' registration and licenses. While the police carefully scrutinize paperwork, vehicles blast through the red lights, drive the wrong way to avoid driving an extra 100 meters, and nearly run down bicyclists. All of this happens right in front of the cops. Drivers know that it's acceptable to drive like homicidal maniacs, as long as their papers are in order!

Daniel Guiney, Minnesota, currently in Zibo, Shandong province (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 11:36 AM)

Do you see any accidents? Its not that we(chinese) are reckless drivers, its called skills, I don't see anyone getting hurt in the video when there's-supposedly- all the crazy and dangerous driving going on. And its not because there were not as many cars before as someone above said, i moved to the states when i was 9 and now 20, and an american citizen, and i remember when i was 6 while in Hunan ChangSha there were already a lot of cars on the road, and you rarely see any adults riding bicycles, so its not the increase in the number of cars, and no, there are no young drivers in china, since young people don't usually have money to buy a car, since they cost up to 100,000yuan just to get a new volkswagan,which is about 12,000 in american dollars. In America, you will see the difference between urban drivers and rural drivers, rural drivers panic at every little thing, while new yorkers don't give a crap about double yellow lines, we just make the damn U turn whenever we want, as long as there's no cops.(i live in NYC by the way)... chinese driving skills keeps you body and mind alert at all times when you're on the street, thats why we move like ninjas.

Michael Deng Lin, Brooklyn, New York, ChangSha ,Hunan (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 11:39 AM)

I just returned from traveling in China. The crazy traffic has been one of the things I’ve tried to describe to friends & family. The video reflects my experiences, except there were always MANY more people, bikes, carts, etc. on the sidewalks & on the sides of the streets... just adding more obstacle on the road! Over the two weeks, we only had one really close call & I only saw one fender bender. Not bad for the conditions!

Riding a bike in China was probably the most dangerous (and most exciting) thing I've ever done. I agree with some of the other posters—you just have to go with the flow & use your horn. If you’re in a taxi-—sit back, say a prayer, and hold on! If you try to adhere to the western rules of the road (or expect your driver to)—-you’re in trouble!

I'm also tired of the bad asian driver comments. Seriously, to drive in China without incident takes skills! The conditions are so different from major US cities--would implementing and enforcing more rules/traffic signs reduce accidents or add more congestion and other problems?

Sara, Michigan (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 11:39 AM)

Asians don't have problems driving in the states because of some video, please try not to put your stereotypes in your comments just because of some video on youtube. Then let me stereotype americans then, americans always believe everything they are told and can't think for themselves.

Michael Deng, ChangSha, Hunan, Brooklyn New York (Sent Friday, June 29, 2007 11:47 AM)

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China Road Rules

Posted: Thursday, June 28, 2007 2:00 PM
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