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Ainu Laire
Tol Eressea
Feb 25 2007, 12:49pm
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Talk about bad driving...
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I have been in China for 3 days now, and I have seen some absolutely fascinating things. The Forbidden City was fantastic, the Great Wall was breathtaking (no pun intended)... but the most interesting thing about China is how people drive!
Right now I'm in Changsha, the capital of the province of Hunan (it's down in southern China). I am on the 30th floor of the hotel, and I have a great view of the street, which is one of the main streets in this city. For a good twenty to thirty minutes I have just been standing at my window, watching the main intersection.
In that span of time, there have been two or three collisions (nothing major, just rears hitting one another, or slight bumps of front ends), and so many near-misses I lost count. Bikes and motorcycles are thrown in with the cars and buses, which makes it even more interesting. The red light is a suggestion; with heavier traffic, it seems to be followed, but if there is lighter traffic (and "light" is a very, very vague term), then the light signals are basically ignored. Oh, and sidewalks do not exist, either. There are designated areas for people and bikes, but quite a few people don't pay any attention to that. When my dad and I went to try and find a market, we avoided quite a few cars and motorcycles riding on the sidewalk, or at least the "people walking area", if there is no sidewalk. They have bars on the sidewalk to try and prevent that, and while rules were more enforced in Beijing, here in Changsha, they really aren't. I saw one officer sitting on the ground, smoking.
While on the tour bus, we saw a motorcycle completely break down right beside us (I mean "break down" as in "fall completely apart") and traffic continued as normal. One car in front of us was going very slow, so when honking didn't work, our tour bus passed him... by going into oncoming traffic. There were people in the tour bus who went white as sheets... I think I started laughing hysterically.
I will have to take pictures of this when I'm here. The traffic is just... unbelievable. I really can't believe just how bad and unorganized it is here. It reminds me of the "roaring 20s" as described in the Great Gatsby.
Oh, and for anyone curious, I will see my sister for the first time in about 15 or so hours... around 10 or 11am, China time. I will then stay here until the 9th.
But man, I will never, ever complain about driving in Los Angeles ever again.
Has anyone seen anything as bad as I have described, whether where I live (in the US) or any other part of the world? I am completely fascinated by it.
My LJ
My art site
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hatster
Rohan
Feb 25 2007, 1:22pm
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see your new sister 
Sounds like you are having an exciting time of it! keep us posted
I have lost the dwarves and I have lost the wizard, and I don't know where I am; and I don't want to know, if only I can get away.
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deej
Tol Eressea
Feb 25 2007, 4:38pm
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Traffic-wise, I mean. You must be so excited to see your little sister; take care and I hope you all have a safe trip back!
Sincerely, deej - The Artist Formerly Known as djdeathskiss
Atlanta Woot! Moot 2007 - Join us Labor Day weekend; go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/atlanta_woot_moot/
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Lady of Light
Rivendell
Feb 25 2007, 4:48pm
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Has anyone seen anything as bad as I have described, whether where I live (in the US) or any other part of the world? I haven't, but my parents said much the same thing about China when they were there last year. This year they are in India, and from their e-mail after touring Delhi... The traffic is unbelievable. It makes China look organized!! Later, they also told us about a drive in a car with no seatbelts... or doors! 
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair."
- Douglas Adams, Mostly Harmless
________________
"Bilbo, have you been at the Gaffer's home brew?"
"No! Well yes, but that's not the point..."
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If it weren't for physics and law enforcement, I'd be unstoppable!
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Annael
Elvenhome
Feb 25 2007, 5:38pm
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My wasband had a friend who emigrated from China who thought drivers here were stupid and cowardly for obeying the laws. My wasband rode with him once and came back white as a sheet.
Dorothy was a fool she could have stayed in Oz
She traded all that color for black and white
- Judy Collins
NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967
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elvenhobbit
Rohan
Feb 25 2007, 8:51pm
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well, today a woman with left turn signal, weaving in and out of major busy traffic...then turns right and nearly takes to the sidewalk/path! We had to try and weave around and she nearly (by a whiskers breadth...literally!!) caught our front end (even though more damage would be done to her car than ours!).
and then there's 'public' transport...twice the speed limit...listening to deafening radio whilst in prayer or something?!! yes...exactly.
and taxi's? park on the sidewalk!
-e_H-
Elven by name, Hobbit by nature
'Road lead ever on and on
down from the door where it began
now far ahead the road has gone
down from where all began' -FOTR-
and through all the world has changed
the ages come and go with time
and yet those remain unchanged
unto they journey westward
over the sea...
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Aerlinn
Lorien
Feb 25 2007, 9:06pm
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I work only about a mile from home
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and still hardly a day goes by that I don't mutter "Idiot" at someone for some boneheaded move or other. Nothing remotely as bad as what you describe, just not stopping at stop signs, or parking there, or not signalling, or any number of (mostly) small things.
Taking a cab ride in Boston once was the closest I've come to your experience. The other drivers were utterly insane, so maybe it was a good thing that our cabdriver was a madman.
Congratulations on your sister, and have fun - - and stay safe!!
 | TheOneRing.net – where everybody knows your name!
And J.R.R. Tolkien’s middle names… and the name of his publisher’s son … and the name of Aragorn’s great-great-great- grandfather on his mother’s side… and what Frodo’s name almost was… |
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Annael
Elvenhome
Feb 25 2007, 10:15pm
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The driver accelerated continuously until something got in his way, which he then swerved around. When we came to a red light he made a right turn, a U-turn, and then a right turn again so he wouldn't have to stop - all without noticeably slackening speed. That was bad enough, but he also spent most of the time with his elbow hooked over the back of the seat and half-turned to face us so he could talk to us!
We thought we were going to die for sure.
Driving in Tijuana was fun too. We were on a highway with three lanes of traffic in each direction when someone passed us on the right-hand shoulder and then took a left across all lanes of traffic.
Dorothy was a fool she could have stayed in Oz
She traded all that color for black and white
- Judy Collins
NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967
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Penthe
Gondor
Feb 25 2007, 11:22pm
Post #9 of 24
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I thought that about traffic in Hanoi as well when I was there. But then I realised that mostly the traffic was doing everything it could to avoide hitting anything else. That seemed to be the only road rule that was generally followed.So as a pedestrian, you just had to move slowly and consistently and put your trust in everyone else, even when crossing the road in the middle of the mayhem. Scary.
Unlike at home, though, where everyone follows the road rules, more or less, but they won't slow down to avoid a pedestrian until it's too late.
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silneldor
Half-elven
Feb 26 2007, 12:25am
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I have driven a tractor trailer for a living
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for almost 30 years in the urbanity of NY/NJ and i have yet to experience the 'bizarrefrantic' situation you had the 'fortune' to experience . If i was there i think i'd be laughing off the wall too. It seems like a world of Charlie Chaplins
I have heard about other places that are bad, like Mexico City (forget others) but that takes the cake .
So if i get a little irked, i will remember your post and just LOL .
"Tolkien, like Lewis, believed that, through story, the real world would become a more magical place, full of meaning. We see its patterns and colors in a fresh way. The recovery of a true view of the world applies both to individual things, like hills and stones, and to the cosmic - the depths of space and time itself. For in sub-creation, in Tolkien's view, there is a "survey" of space and time. Reality is captured on a miniature scale. Through stories like The Lord of the Rings, a renewed view of things is given, illuminating the homely, the spiritial, the physical, and the moral dimensions of the world."
Tolkien and C.S. Lewis- The Gift of Friendship -Duriez
A little bit of my Middle-earth by canoe.
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GaladrielTX
Tol Eressea
Feb 26 2007, 1:14am
Post #11 of 24
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I was watching some travel program once
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about some city in Italy. (I don't remember which.) They were interviewing a taxi driver on how to drive there, and he said, "Drive very fast and make with the horn!"
~~~~~~~~
I used to be GaladrielTX, but I lost TX in a poker game.
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Aerin
Grey Havens
Feb 26 2007, 3:54am
Post #12 of 24
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Well, I'm sure it's not as bad as China and some of the other countries people have mentioned, but it takes some sort of prize in the U.S.!
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Feb 26 2007, 4:27am
Post #13 of 24
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One drives to the nearest train station and takes the "T" in!
(Except when the public transportation shuts down. I have had the strange pleasure  of trying to locate South Station past midnight...)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Still 'round the corner there may wait
A new road, or a secret gate...
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Aerin
Grey Havens
Feb 26 2007, 7:26am
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The T is great, except when it isn't.
I once knew someone who got a learner's permit and tried to learn to drive in Boston. She went out and had a wreck on her first drive. She decided to forget about learning to drive.
To me, the most charming thing about driving in Boston is the signage. The theory seems to be that if you don't know what road you are on, then you shouldn't be there, anyway.
Actually, one of my brothers lives in Boston and seems to handle the driving OK, because he's slightly clueless. His only problem was when he completely unwittingly interrupted a funeral procession and received a summons. Turns out it's a criminal offense, with potential jail time. Fortunately, his lawyer got the charge dismissed, and the judge gave the prosecutor a lecture about overzealous enforcement.
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Timbo_mbadil
Rivendell
Feb 26 2007, 8:01am
Post #15 of 24
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There is evil there that does not sleep.
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Such as certain 'on ramps' to the highway. My then gf and I were stranded on the parking lot of a supermarket and the 'ramp' was a simple stop line in the middle of a bend. You try to get on a highway in Boston in the middle of a bend. Close your eyes and both feet on the throttle.
But otherwise Boston is not so bad (if I had to live in the US, this would probably be it). If ou stick to public transport.
Otherness represents that which bourgeois ideology cannot recognize or accept but must deal with (…)
Robin Wood 2003, p. 49. "Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan – and beyond". Columbia University Press, New York, Chichester, West Sussex.
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Timbo_mbadil
Rivendell
Feb 26 2007, 8:08am
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It's the same in Paris, only different (?!)
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I can't remember if there even is a traffic light for pedestrians on the Place de la Concorde (which is a very popular place for tourists to go). So if you want to cross, you just walk on slowly and keep your eyes straight, because when you look at a a driver, he'll think you've seen him so he won't have to evade you. Talking about a couple of hundred cars going by you at 70 km/h within a minute, that'll put a little sweat on the brow of the uninitiated…
But maybe it's changed, it's been 20 years since I lived there.
Otherness represents that which bourgeois ideology cannot recognize or accept but must deal with (…)
Robin Wood 2003, p. 49. "Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan – and beyond". Columbia University Press, New York, Chichester, West Sussex.
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GaladrielTX
Tol Eressea
Feb 26 2007, 1:43pm
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They were so *sob* mean to me! I'd gone too far on one road and wanted to get in the right lane so I could make a right and go around the block, but no one would let me in!
~~~~~~~~
I used to be GaladrielTX, but I lost TX in a poker game.
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Annael
Elvenhome
Feb 26 2007, 3:52pm
Post #18 of 24
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for a few days once. When I got home it took a day for me to calm down and quit driving so aggressively!
A friend who is not an assertive driver at the best of times had to drive somewhere in Boston. At one point she stopped to let some people waiting at a street corner cross. They all looked suspiciously at her and stepped back from the curb. Things went from bad to worse, and by the time the policeman pulled her over she was in tears.
Dorothy was a fool she could have stayed in Oz
She traded all that color for black and white
- Judy Collins
NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967
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Asclepias
Rivendell
Feb 26 2007, 6:45pm
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The best way to drive in Mexico is to take a taxi or drive with someone who knows what he/she is doing. When I was in Oaxaca I saw no stop signs at all, just lots of speeds bumps. We didn't spend too much time in town so it wasn't terrible, but I recall being worried that we were going to off one of the country roads. In Cuernavaca I didn't see and stoplights either, and I wouldn't dare try to drive in Mexico City! Picture approximately half of the 25 million people zooming around! Coupled with machismo, it can get quite dangerous! When we were visiting some of the ruins for a college class (there were 25 of us, 23 girls and two guys) I saw three guys in an ambulance cut across three lanes of traffic to goggle at us.
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Ciars
Rohan
Feb 26 2007, 7:20pm
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I had a similiar experience when I went to Egypt. We had to travel in a large mini bus convoy from Luxor to Hurgahada due to security issues - the drivers were maniacs they pulled in and out constantly sometimes with only centimetre between them and the vans they squeezed next too and oncoming traffic had to avoid them! Really white knuckle stuff.
What an experience you're having! It sounds great ( apart from the near death driving experiences!) hope all goes smoothly until you are all united with your new sister!
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
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Penthe
Gondor
Feb 26 2007, 11:07pm
Post #21 of 24
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It was the same last year, I think
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But I was too chicken to cross at Place de la Concorde. We just kind of skirted around the edges from the Metro station to the Tuileries.
What struck us as really funnny about Paris drivers was the way they'd just leave their cars sitting in the middle of the intersection while they popped into the boulangerie for some bread. Only on quietish streets to be fair.
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Aerin
Grey Havens
Feb 28 2007, 4:49am
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Classic! I'll have to warn my brother, in case he's ever tempted to wait for pedestrians! The last thing he needs is another run-in with the traffic cops!
What's so funny is that Chapel Hill, NC, is the exact opposite. Pedestrians don't even glance to see whether anyone is coming and completely take it for granted that traffic will stop for anyone at a crosswalk, even if they haven't entered it yet. (Actually, I hate driving in Chapel Hill almost as much as driving in Boston.)
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Annael
Elvenhome
Feb 28 2007, 4:55am
Post #23 of 24
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Close your eyes and both feet on the throttle.
We quickly adopted this strategy: I would hold a road map up so it was obvious we were from out of town, and my husband would then just barge right into traffic at full speed without signaling. We got honked at but we also got where we wanted to go.
Dorothy was a fool she could have stayed in Oz
She traded all that color for black and white
- Judy Collins
NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967
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L. Ron Halfelven
Grey Havens
Feb 28 2007, 12:48pm
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Sleep, no. Read the paper, chat on the cell phone, put on its makeup, yes./
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dont get me started!
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