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Q: When did the mighty car take over in China?
I remember seeing all those secret photos of China many years ago which showed thousands upon thousands of Chinese riding bicycles. Every old picture of China showed bicycles.
I know the driving here is a pet peeve of mine but at what point in the glorious 5000 year history of this country did the car become such a major player?
And during this automobile revolution when did the total disregard for all other road users - cyclists, pedestrians, scooters - become almost a rule of the road?
In conclusion: when will there be a change here that sees basic traffic laws obeyed, pedestrian crossings having right of way and stopping cars from parking on sidewalks and...well actually just anywhere? Is this a lack of policing problem?
10 years 43 weeks ago in Transport & Travel - China
China is the first government in history that can not see the giant cash cow in front of them! If they started finning people who broke the traffic laws they could fund a whole new level of government waste and corruption 
It is not matter of (normal) traffic rules or lack of enforcement in China.
Car, scooter or bike goes first because owner is 'wealthier' than any pedestrian. It's Chinese believing from the first rickshas time.
Chinese all patiently wait till all vehicles pass, even when is green light on for pedestrians.
Try to practice Western pedestrian traffic rules, and watch how the drivers will look at you. Some of them will drive around you, some of them will stop, and give you a 'deep' look.
It is only the last 20 years that private car ownership has been possible in China. Only those who are getting their licenses from about this decade would have been able to, like most from western countries, to grow up with motor vehicles, see how cars drive etc. The motorists of today in China have grown up seeing the few cars actually on the streets, plow through the crowds with no regard to human life, as they were tasked with moving high ranking party members around. I doubt it will ever change with the CCP at power. Their focus is on maintaining power, nothing matters less than the safety of the people. The people is seen as an endless resource that can be treated poorly. The people would see enforcing of traffic laws as the government restricting their freedom. Try asking your Chinese friends if they care about random people getting killed in the streets. Most I have talked to about this topic will say "there are so many people that it is not possible to take care of all" It is all part of the lie that the massive population cannot be governed like the puny western countries.
IMO, the driving style of people in China is just an extension of their attitude to other people. If you have ever seen their eagerness to cut each other off on the road....... enough said!
I believe it was around the time that fast food restaurant came to China and people started to gain lots of weight and became very lazy....that's what I saw on the news anyway or read about it somewhere...
