Shanghai [China] traffic an embodiment of Chinese logic

[Lao Jia Hou]

I absolutely hate driving a car in Beijing, and not just because of the traffic insanity ... rather, I've become one of "them."

Being a courteous, respectful, safe driver in Beijing is pretty much setting yourself up for every yokel running over you.

Seriously, my own car-driving habits have deteriorated to the point that if I went home, I'd get thrown in jail driving out of the airport parking lot. If I was an American, I'd probably get shot.

[td_ref]

i'm sure after a while, you will be numb,emotionless.

[Nuhaus]

Well take this for respect for law:: driver turns his right signal on and slows down, starts to veer to the right...

A "T=bone" is when someone hits someone else dead centre on the side. And yes, it sounds as if that particular individual was setting you up perfectly for that style of collision. Whenever I see someone drving slowly in front of me without signalling a turn, I slow down too. More often than not it means they are about to do something really stupid, or, as in your case, they are planning something murderous.

[euphonius]

As one who's been living in China for more than 20 years, I've watched this me-first-left-turn problem bloom from the days (early 1990s) when cars were a rarity on Chinese roads. Without making excuses or justifications, it's easy to understand how this "me first" attitude toward almost any situation in life evolved, if you consider how punishing grandma has been on those who showed themselves as weak or deferential to others. Defensiveness has become an instinct. Add ambition to defensiveness and what you get is, well, people stealing a left turn before oncoming traffic has a chance to assert its right of way.

In those situations when I am the oncoming traffic, I have learned, after many years of anger and resentment, to do half of what td_ref suggests. Numbness will get you killed; emotionlessness will let you survive.

Urban traffic here requires a zen-like state of acceptance that I can achieve only on a bicycle or motorcycle. I simply would not be able to do it in a car. That's not to say there are not many other ways to skin the cat. At intersections, I always find my way to the very front of the queue, often by riding to the far left of traffic, sometimes in the oncoming traffic lane. That way I can place myself in an optimal position for entering the intersection safely before the me-first left-turners know what happened. As they encroach on my space, I resist the temptation to slow down and make them suffer. Usually. If there's a cop nearby I just might, so they have to squirm. But that's so unzen-like, and probably will cause that driver to attack the next bicyclist or motorcyclist he sees.

That's the challenge of urban riding: Optimizing, and dissipating the emotions that surely will get you into trouble, now or later.

How anyone can drive a car in a Chinese city and stay sane is beyond me.

safe riding!

[slabo]

A "T=bone" is when someone hits someone else dead centre on the side. And yes, it sounds as if that particular individual was setting you up perfectly for that style of collision. Whenever I see someone drving slowly in front of me without signalling a turn, I slow down too. More often than not it means they are about to do something really stupid, or, as in your case, they are planning something murderous.

but he used his turn signal, neh?

[MotoKai]

摩托道
Motorcycle and Daoism Principle 1

it's easy to understand how this "me first" attitude toward almost any situation in life evolved, if you consider how punishing grandma has been on those who showed themselves as weak or deferential to others. Defensiveness has become an instinct. Add ambition to defensiveness and what you get is, well, people stealing a left turn before oncoming traffic has a chance to assert its right of way.

In those situations when I am the oncoming traffic, I have learned, after many years of anger and resentment, to do half of what td_ref suggests. Numbness will get you killed; emotionlessness will let you survive.

Can't wait for #2 (more please!!)

[Fred]

Well take this for respect for law:: driver turns his right signal on and slows down, starts to veer to the right...

You think, ok, he wants to park on the right, I'm safe, I can pass. Then suddenly he swerves across the street. AH! He wants to U-turn!
(is this what you call a T-bone accident?)

I'd say it's not lack of logic but lack of basic morality... That went out the window long time ago here.

THIS is exactly what happened to me last time in Shanghai, and I was very fortunate to be on my bicycle, not on the motorbike... When I saw his right signal and beginning to turn on the right, I went to the left to pass him and suddenly this SOB started a U-turn. I was able to brake and barely avoid him because I was doing around 15km/h, then letting him know my thoughts on his fu....-up driving skills...
If I had been on the motorbike, going faster, no way I could have avoided him.

This is what I find the most difficult riding in Shanghai : should we stop to a crawl every time we see a car that's supposed to park, should we pass cars at 10km/h maximum, should we cross every intersection at 20km/h ? It's impossible to do that every time, every day, we know it...
So what ?

[euphonius]

This where the skull-busting Nautilus Stebel, Wolo Bad Boy or Aerostich Ear Cannon horn (or shanzhai equivalent) can be a lifesaver. Your own ears might be ringing for a few minutes, but it's better than the alternative.

Apart from that, remember your rider training and do your best to read the situation many vehicles ahead of you. If a car pulls over to the right, ask yourself -- what might be the reason? Is there anything of interest that would cause them to stop? A vendor? Stopping to piss? Puke? Sometimes you can tell. But the odds are pretty good that this behavior indicates a U-turn. Watch for it. If you plan to pass, how far to the left can you go without increasing your personal risk?

Sucks that we have to be thinking this way, but it's not just China. Biggest hazard on a US freeway is the SUV with the coffee-drinking, lipstick-applying, cellphone-chatting driver suddenly changing multiple lanes without checking.

We must be hyper-alert at all times, unlike 99% of the drivers around us.

[td_ref]

This where the skull-busting Nautilus Stebel, Wolo Bad Boy or Aerostich Ear Cannon horn (or shanzhai equivalent) can be a lifesaver.

louder horn is good option to me.

When I doing more than 40kph in town, I switch on headlights. But when you have very slow car ahead, think twice before overtake. Again, these precaution cannot completely prevent shxt happen to anyone. Because they don't always do their part of responsibility.