Driving in China - A Citizen's Guide to Navigating the Roads, Sidewalks, and Green Spaces of the PRC

Though I've written about it before, I think it's appropriate that I once again come to the topic of driving - and surviving drivers - in China. I happened upon, or rather was told about, a wikitravel page titled "Driving in China". Though innocuously named, it quickly became apparent that I'd found a hidden gem of the web. Some of what is contained therein most people might think is a joke, or at the very least highly exaggerated. Not so. I can attest that I've not only witnessed near everything mentioned in the article firsthand - but also that I've witnessed it on a regular basis.

The following are excerpts from the article. It begins:

Most visitors find they have enough trouble surviving Chinese traffic without actually taking the wheel. It is generally best to just rent a car with a driver, or to employ a driver if you buy a car. At Chinese wages, the cost of the driver is quite low.

Indeed. Whenever you step into, or near, traffic - hell, if you can *hear* traffic, you're effectively taking your life into you own hands.

If you choose to forego this first bit of advice, though, it gives details on getting you Chinese driver's license.

Regarding the test, taking of:

First there is a computerized theory test of one hundred (mostly) multiple choice questions with 90% as a pass mark; if you do not pass, you can do a second test without paying any further fee. In major cities, these tests are available in multiple languages. In smaller places, the officials may insist you do it in Chinese. Some allow you to bring a translator; some do not. It is not uncommon that besides just translating, the translator will dictate you correct answers and expect a small fee of not more than 100 yuan.

but in case that sounds too complicated:

The easiest way for a foreigner to get a Mainland license is to take the following action: In Hong Kong, convert your foreign license into a Hong Kong license for 20 or so USD. Then, go to Mainland (Guangzhou is probably the easiest place) and convert your HK license into a Mainland license.

On luxury cars, the dangers of:

Beware of large imported luxury cars. Sometimes they belong to gangsters or to young immature relatives of senior party or other officials and consider themselves to be above the law, which unfortunately in the still corruption prone China, they often are.

On roads, the dangers of:

The physical condition of roads and road maintenance varies greatly from municipality to municipality. WARNING to drivers and cyclists: it is not uncommon to find an open man hole cover or large crevice on a newly paved or otherwise smooth road.
Turning off of main roads may require technical off-road driving skills and equipment

On drivers, the dangers of:

To Western eyes, appallingly bad driving is the norm, and insane or suicidal behaviour behind the wheel is fairly common.
Do not assume that Chinese drivers will follow any rule you know.

You do not have to learn to drive like a Chinese, but at least you should not be surprised when they do. There is absolutely no point getting angry if someone cuts you off, or drives against the red light or on the wrong side of the road. You simply yield, and carry on as if nothing had happened.

Another way to look at it is that there are only two rules you must obey, both equally important. Don't hit anything, and don't get hit by anything.

On Way, Right of:

The concept of right-of-way is quite different in China than in many other countries. Think more "First is Right"... or less succinctly, any vehicle with a slight position lead or access to a gap before another vehicle has defacto right of way to enter that gap.

The general rule appears to be keep moving no matter what. Cutting people off, swerving into the oncoming lane, driving on the shoulder, or in a fenced-off bicycle lane, or the wrong way down a divided highway, are all fine as long as they keep you moving in the right general direction and do not cause an immediate accident.

Notice the bolded word above... yeah.

On Red Lights, Optionality of:

Chinese drivers routinely go through red lights if there is no opposing traffic. Pedestrians do not count as traffic; just honk at them to get out of the way, or swerve around them.

A retired teacher in Lanzhou became a bit of a hero on the Chinese Internet in 2009 with his campaign to make an intersection near his home safer. He took to hurling bricks at cars that ran the lights and hit over 30 before the police turned up.

On One-Way Streets, Optionality of:

Bicycles and motorcycles regularly, and cars sometimes, ignore one-way signs. On divided highways, seeing pedestrians, bicycles and motorcycles going the wrong way down the shoulder is entirely normal, and a few go the wrong way beside the center fence.

Many Chinese cities have bicycle lanes fenced off on either side of the road. These carry two-way traffic: bicycles and motorcycles plus the occasional car, truck or pedestrian. Cars routinely take to these lanes if traffic in the main lanes is jammed; they then honk at bicyclists to get out of the way.
Even the sidewalks often carry two-way bicycle and motorcycle traffic, plus the odd car going to or from a parking spot. Even on the sidewalks, vehicles honk at pedestrians to get them out of the way.

On Night, Driving at:

When driving at night, be very aware that people often walk in the middle of the road, with the back to the oncoming traffic, in dark clothes. This is one reason local drivers do not often dip the lights. In the country, there may even be people sleeping on the road.
Bicycles very rarely have lights and many do not even have reflectors. Motorcycles often run at night without lights. Both are sometimes on the wrong side of the road.

On Busses, Courteousness of:

Public buses, and many private buses, rather than acting as professional drivers responsible to their human cargo, are often among the most aggresive drivers; Many in the countryside routinely ignore stoplights or fail to slow while turning, will pass stopped or slower traffic even if this requires using the oncoming traffic lanes, and will often employ their sheer size to enforce merging. Again, "First is Right" ... if the front of a vehicle hits the side or rear of another vehicle, the front-dented vehicle is assumed at fault, no matter the circumstances that preceded the collision.

On Bicycles/Motorcycles, Multipassenger Capabilities of:

Chinese often ride without helmets, or with the helmet on but the chin strap undone. Three people on a motorcycle or two on a bicycle is completely normal, as is having passengers ride sidesaddle. Three on a bicycle or up to five on a motorcycle are sometimes seen. Loads of a cubic meter or so are common for both bicycles and motorcycles, and much larger loads are sometimes seen.

More than anything, I got a real kick out of reading this article, and found myself laughing throughout at the absolutely true, but often frightening, statements within. If you have the time, read through the whole thing yourself. It's well worth the time, and might give you some better idea (for those of you who've yet to visit the Middle Kingdom) of what it is I have to navigate my way through on a daily basis.

Until next time, I am...

(CS) TAW Out.

always think twice