Quote Originally Posted by fahni View Post
Well since we now entered the realm of general road behavior in China I have another 2 of my cents:

I think one of the big problems is that the Chinese switched to cars basically only a decade ago. I remember quite vividly how I was sitting in the car of my parents as a child and how they told me about the right way to behave on the road. They told me about the zipper system (that is what we Germans call interweaving when two lanes in one direction merge into one), that one should give way at intersections even if it was "our" right of way just to enhance traffic flow and I noticed that being able to park a car in a tight spot in two turns is something to be proud of.

The same is not true in China. People did not grow up seeing their parents drive a car and behave politely, I am not saying that this is the main reason but it is definitely a factor.
...and there is a substantial amount of pressure on the majority of Chinese men to buy a car, for pride and face. Even if they don't want to give into this pressure they'll still need to get one before they can marry a Chinese girl.

From what I've heard about China in my few years here, Fahni, you're absolutely spot on. They've not learned road manners yet, moreover, they're vehicle industry has been expanding so fast. I can't blame them, it's just this way right now and they can't do much about it.

What can we expect in the future? More of this in greater density?
What can we do? I know I SHOULD display the manners that we do in the west but when I get cut up, pushed off the road or experience any of the things here all I want to do is display my anger to the guy/girl who did it to let them know how I feel about their actions. The other Chinese people that suffer their dangerous and inconsiderate displays won't do this because they don't want the dangerous car/bike owner to loose face. If this continues, however, it leads to accidents and I don't see face being more important than life, therefore I will continue to display my anger where appropriate... for their benefit.