The Taxi Post

Any good account of Asia will include a piece on the horrors of the continent's traffic. I am sure you have all heard of the congestion, the busyness, the downright lunacy of Chinese drivers. Well allow me to tell you that it is true... really, really, really true. The first thing that you have to understand about traffic here is that it is opposite from traffic in the US. This is what I mean: in the US small traffic, such as motorcycles, drives recklessly and fast while big traffic, such as semis, drive slow not wanting to hurt anyone. In China the opposite is true. Here the trucks drive fast, because no one would be stupid enough to get in their way, and the motoches drive carefully, because they are the most likely to die in the event of an accident. It creates a very weird dynamic when you are riding a motorcycle taxi but being passed on both sides by gigantic trucks, scary stuff indeed. Motorcycle taxis are cheaper, presumably because of the risk of dying and the cost of gas, and so that is our preferred method of travel into town. However, the normal car taxis are not a bad option either.

There are four kinds of drivers in China. The first is the safe driver. He understands that the foreigners in his car are of great value. That it would be terrible if we died and that we are really willing to pay a bit extra for a safe ride. The second is that fast driver. This man is a daredevil and expects others to be as well. The road is his oyster and he uses every part of it to get you to your destination. He understands that foreigners have a lot of money and that they are willing to pay a bit extra to be entertained. It must be noted that the driver is often the only one being entertained. He smiles with each screech of the tire and laughs each time I tighten my grip on the door handle.

The third driver is the incomprehensible driver. Like the previous driver they are willing to use any part of the road to their advantage, but this brand tends to be confused as to which side of the road he is supposed to be driving on. Often this driver will hug the left hand curb even though it would appear to be faster if he just stayed in the correct lane. They will often turn the car on and off at inappropriate times and will often be on their cell phone. The worst of all the drivers is the new driver. I was recently invited to dinner at a Chinese friend's house but before we ate we had to make a quick run to the grocery store. As I settled into the backseat my driver's husband turned to me and said, "She just got her license," with a large grin. This was the first time that I had put on a seat belt since moving to China. It was horrifying, I can not even explain it to you. I would have killed for any other sort of driver, even a most incomprehensible one. I survived but just barely.

The scary news is this... 3000 new drivers hit the road each week in this country. That's over 150,000 new drivers each year. Things are only going to get worse.
C. Johnson