Well, I have my own theory on why Chinese drivers are so bad. And Indian.
From the time we are in school, age 5, one of the first things we are taught is
road safety. How to cross the street, where to cross, red/yellow/green lights.
What side of the street do you ride your bike on? Hand signals. What do the
lines on the road mean (basic idea of yellow and white lines).
By the time we get to driving age, we just know. It's natural and obvious.
However, go to China or India. There you don't go for a drivers test! It would
take you months and months to get a drivers license. What you do is go down
to some guy near the drivers test area and pay him for your license. A week
later he shows up with one for you. You never take the written or driving portion
of the exam. You never even go to a driving school, that would be a stupid
waste of money.
The problem this creates is that they don't know any of the rules. What do
those lines mean? What about the traffic lights? Right of way? Shoulder
check? And so on.
You know all those mirrors we have on our cars? The lack of knowlege about
driving is so bad, that in India they will take a poster of their favourite singer,
movie, or sports player, and cut it out and put it over the rear window. The side
mirrors are folded in, they would break off because driving is a matter of an
inch or less there. So what are those mirrors good for then?
This means utter chaos on the roads. If you get up to 40km/hr you're going
too fast! Normal driving is between 20 and 25km/hr. 1st and 2nd gear is all
you are going to need, you don't need 3rd or beyond.
They also employ a nose-first right of way policy. If you get the nose of
your car in there first, it's your right of way. Think F1 or Indy car racing rules,
you can see the nose-first rules there.
This leads to extreme defensive driving, always on the brake, then accelerate,
then immediately brake again. They expect the cars around them to drive into
their lane and get "nose first".
They also deal with ox-carts, cows, pigs, bison and other livestock in the middle
of the roads. People wandering out in the streets. Cars careening towards them
on the wrong side of the road.
I hired a driver to take me around India. He never went over 80km on empty
highways (speed limit 90 or 100). Why? It's just too fast. He literally expected
cars to pop out of nowhere and he'd have to stop.
Now bring those drivers over here. What do you think they will drive like?
ers
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