The Chinese Motoring Experience

Overlander you probably remember the road signs in South Africa (still used today) along all the highways:

Number of drivers NOT speeding in August 32%

Probably the most sophisticated country in Africa has a death toll of 13,000 per year. We have 1,100 with about half the population.

This is really interesting
www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-dea...ccidents/by-country/

If you keep clicking on boxes on this site you will get the most amazing world figures on health.

Overlander sounds like you’re referring to Sydney motorists?

It is great reading about the various road experiences of you blokes...
We tend to expect that the world operates and thinks like us- it causes a mate of mine no end of mental trauma the way some of our sub continent and Asian drivers operate...I can't explain to him that thats just the way things are over there, so you can't just expect them to immediately understand the way we operate here!
A few road trips around the world shakes you out of that illusion that the only way is the Australian way.
We did a road trip in China many years ago, my brother and I shared the driving, it was white knuckled affair with hair raising near death experiences every day, as Lang says, we just couldnt get our head round the way it "worked" if you called it "working".
But then many years later, Vietnam was kind of an eye opener for me- Did a fair lap of the North on motorbikes, if you have ever been to Vietnam the traffic is almost indescribably chaotic- but it works, somehow. It flows like water. There was hours of entertainment to be had by just sitting in a cafe watching the traffic. The best was in Ho Chi Minh city at the world famous roundabout, just amazing. Highlight was watching a woman quite unconcernedly pushing a baby in a pram walking diametrically opposite the traffic through about ten lanes of choc a block moving traffic..

We eventually ended up quite "at peace" on the motorbikes with the traffic, in the simple knowledge that everything, and everyone, is going to pull out in front of you, or run you over if possible. Or they won't. or who knows... No aggro, no drama, just go, keep your eyes open, be prepared for anything, and all is well.
I remember walking down the wrong side of a dark, busy road in a town somewhere up north one night, and we both agreed that we felt safer doing that there, than we would in Australia. Simply because people EXPECT things to be on the road, instead of here where "it's my lane" and therefore cruise control is on, and there is nothing on the road.. until there is, and it's a 'terrible accident".
Funny how you see things in a different way in differnt places hey.

Actually there is a whole other topic there, in "what have you seen on a moped"..
It was fun trying to spot even more wilder and crazier loads. and just when you thought you'd seen it all, lo and behold, something even better!

Someone told me once that pickups (like my Courier) are not allowed in China,and not sold there ,because the authorities know they would be dangerously overloaded...so the only freight vehicles allowd are trucks that are strictly controlled under a commercial vehicle licensing system

Your Pictures Remind Me of the Traffic in India Richard.. absolutely amazing what they could get on a Moped & maintain Balance..
I've regularly seen Families of Six riding around on One..

Humble apologies for those who suffered. Hard to tell without trying somebody else's computer,.

No hang on, that what I did do, I used yours!?

It was several thousand ducks (no exaggeration) being herded through what looked like a small town main road by farmer and wife, two other peasants and a dog. The ducks seemed to follow each other pretty much the same as sheep do (with less wanderers inclined to go off at right angles!) in between and around cars bikes and buses, but decidedly more intent on reaching their destination than any sheep.

Was there anyone who could see it??? :blink: :blush:

Agree that we might benefit from thinking about our own traffic behavior.
After a few days in Saigon 50 years back, dawned on me that the reason
for so few collisions was that they did not have insurance???

The chooks remind me of Manila. I figured I had really been in a jeepney when I had been in one with a cage of chooks in it and someone's entire household possessions on the roof, people hanging off the back and passing the payment up to the front "bayad ho".
Philippines traffic actually sounds well regulated compared to Indonesia. (excepting the dotted white "suggestions" on the roads)

Jarrod.

Overnite- I haven't been on Sydney roads for over 25 years so I can not compare. From where I lived outside Nairobi it was over on hour to the nearest decent supermarket so a bloke made the most of having to be in 'town' by taking care of any other chores before swinging by a Nakumat or Uchumi supermarket for my fodder. Police checks operate in the mornings to collect their lunch money so they are a challenge as is dealing with the traffic, pedestrians, donkey carts, pushbikes and some pretty shitty roads. Brake pads were a big seller at E Autos. But yeah looking back on it I can say it was fun at the time. And Lang, - yeah South Africa had terrific signs for the road users' to ignore- , I regret now not having a camera to record the wisdoms of their signage. Pete