An op ed by Brian on Chinese driving

The driving here is INSANE!  Pedestrians, bikes, scooters, buses, motorized bicycles and cars attempt to share the road but there are absolutely no rules. Red light? Just ride your scooter diagonally through the intersection. U-turn across 4 lanes of traffic? Why not? If you come to a traffic jam and the oncoming lane is free what do you do?  Go into the oncoming lane to pass it!  Does it matter if there’s a mile worth of traffic?  Nah, just keep going, dodging oncoming cars as you go!  What if there’s traffic in that lane too?  Well just go down the bike lane, they’ll move and if they don’t, well, you’re not responsible, you were avoiding traffic!  Pedestrians crossing the road slowing you down?  Not a problem, just honk your horn to give them fair warning that you’re coming through and then dodge them as come…  and best of all (they need to bring this to Boston), no on street parking?  No PROBLEM!  Just drive up onto the sidewalk, back right up to the door of the store where you want to go, and park.

After watching this from the back of cabs and shuttle busses on countless white knuckle rides, I was paranoid to cross ANY street or even walk more than like 2 feet from any wall (since I hoped cars didn’t drive through them too). Wandering through the park near the hotel, I came to a HUGE 4 way intersection with at least 8 lanes to cross in any direction and what do I see on the other side?  A mother walks with her 6 or 7 year-old son (she’s walking, he’s ahead skipping) to the corner of this giant intersection and then sort of waves him off and just walks off as he skips through the intersection, not a care for the cars weaving their way by him! 

He made it safely across.

I went back to the hotel to get a clean pair of pants!