Friday, November 20, 2009

China keeps finding ways to piss me off (1)

I'm crossing the road on a pedestrian crossing.  No traffic light, but still a designated crossing place.
 
The guy driving towards me does not back off the gas at all.  He keeps on coming at a steady, too-fast speed - a good 35mph or so, I would guess.  If anything, he is possibly accelerating slightly as he nears me.
 
And he drives past all of about one foot behind me.
 
His judgement of his own speed, or mine, was not that precise.  He could not have known that I would not slow down, stumble, pause to tie a shoelace in the middle of the road, or suddenly step backwards for no reason at all (all things the typical Chinese pedestrian does fairly commonly).  And he would not have had the speed of reaction or the car control necessary to execute an emergency stop if I hadn't managed to get out of the way of his car.
 
Driving like that is reckless, stupid, and dramatically increases your chances of causing a serious, perhaps fatal accident.  And almost everyone in this country drives that way.
 

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