A nightmare on Beijing streets
By People's Daily | 2012-5-22


TRAFFIC jams plague both New York and Beijing, and yet you have totally different driving experiences in the two cities.

In New York, drivers often yield to each other, but in Beijing, drivers block one another.

For example, whenever a driver signals to change lanes in New York, others would make way for him or her. This public manner is unusual in Beijing.

That's why traffic order is much better in New York than in Beijing, although per capita ownership of private cars in New Your doubles that in Beijing.

In Beijing, drivers are not incentivized to do good. Those drivers who violate traffic rules or disregard public manners are seldom punished or shamed.

Over time, fewer and fewer drivers are willing to do good.