Driving Miss Crazy

Transportation in China is an interesting proposition. With 1.3 billion people and a transportation infrastructure lagging behind a bit, most people use bicycles or public transportation. In fact, on city streets, there are three lanes to a side -- two for vehicles, and one for bikes . . . and the more impatient motorists. You won't see many of the traditional rickshaws (in fact, I haven't seen any; sorry Dad W.), but you'll see lots of busses. And taxis. Tons of taxis, in fact. Floods of taxis. Forests of taxis. Taxis everywhere. Accessibility of transit is not a problem.

The transit itself, however, is . . . well, like most other things here, it's a bit different. Busses are generally clean and comfy (if you get a seat; good luck with that), and many around Shanghai are even equipped with television screens to display the local and world news. Bus drivers here don't put a premium on smooth shifting, however, and you can pretty well expect to do your best unintentional headbanger impression. Some, in fact, appear to be only marginally aware of the existence of the clutch, and cheerfully lurch from one gear to the next while completely stopped -- a transition accompanied by the most hideous grinding noises.

Taxis are much smoother and, naturally, quicker. The incredibly low cost of taxis by comparison with the Western world make them very useful when speed or space is at a premium. We took a taxi from downtown Shanghai to our front door in thirty minutes last night and spent 90 RMB (split three ways; it works out to about $3.75 a person). The same trip by public transit takes two hours and costs 10 RMB, or about $1.25.

The really interesting part of travelling around urban China is the driving itself. Chinese drivers have only one goal in life: to overtake the person in front of them, no matter how close or far away that person may be. Oncoming traffic in the other lane merely provides an amusing challenge. Lane markers are viewed as the barest of suggestions, rather than fixed rules, and I have only once ever witnessed the use of a turn signal (it was probably a terrible oversight on the driver's part, and I pretended not to notice).

When changing lanes, passing, turning, tailgating, speeding up, slowing down, or doing anything else, Chinese drivers honk their horns. This can be a bit alarming to a first-time passenger in a Shanghai taxi (did I mention that taxis have their seatbelts removed?), as his driver will zoom through red lights, nearly annihilate bicyclists, execute U-turns on the highway and the like, all the while honking furiously. I have been in the front seat of a taxi which attempted to pass an entire caravan of slow-moving trucks by driving in the opposing lane for perhaps a quarter of a mile while the driver laid on the horn and oncoming busses swerved into the bicycle lane to avoid hitting us.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about all of this chaos is that no-one seems to be bothered by it. Drivers do not shout, curse, or even gesture at other cars. It seems that a few honks suffice, no matter what the offense. I have not yet witnessed an accident (though pedestrians are responsible to avoid accidents, not motorists), but hey -- there's a first time for everything.

I just hope I'm not in the taxi when it happens.

Dave