China Segment

I may live to regret writing this, but I’m calling out the police of Shanghai, of all China. Everyday more people needlessly die in this country because the police do not enforce the law. Traffic accidents are easily preventable, yet they do nothing. Cars, motorcycles and pedestrians break laws right in front [...]

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Lots of goodies in the above picture:

The ubiquitous three-wheeled bicycle cart - carrying far too much - slowly being peddled across the street by a man obviously too desperate for work.
The policeman trying to keep order among the various vehicles, all the while keeping his gloves white.
Pedestrians… not necessarily staying ‘between the lines’.
Bicycles - [...]

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Jaywalking is about as common in Shanghai as smoking. Needless to say, it’s a big problem. But unlike smoking, which fuels revenues for the government, jaywalking is something the authorities would like to stop. They’re losing so far, it would seem.
There are a lot of public awareness campaigns these days urging residents [...]

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Foreign concepts take a long time to take root in any country. China is no different.
Crosswalks - zebra stripes - have been painted all over China. But some guy’s idea in the Transport Ministry or City Council doesn’t necessarily translate to different behavior on the ground. So I’m giving newbies to China [...]

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… are missing from the vocabulary of drivers in Shanghai. I’ve asked a couple local people about shoulder checking (i.e. why don’t you do it?, did your instructors in driver training teach it to you?) and received answers like “huh?” in return. It appears drivers are not taught to shoulder check, and guess [...]

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