How China Taught me to Drive Better
Understandably, my family and friends were concerned. Drivers on the Asian continent have a reputation for being dangerous, and that’s not without a bit of truth. In 2006 the number of fatal deaths on Chinese roads was double that of the United States, despite the fact that the U.S. reportedly had four times as many licensed cars. Safety is an issue, for sure.
However, although logic seems to deny this fact, I firmly believe that China has made me a better driver.
Cruising in China: Drive Defensively or Die
To the first time visitor or expat (a foreigner living in China), Chinese traffic seems like chaos. Cars are weaving in and out of lanes, darting from hidden side streets and honking their horns, 
all without the use of that nifty little feature called a turn signal. Escape from the vehicle is impossible because most cars are never more than 4 inches apart, just wide enough to fit the mirrors.
Sometime within the first year, though, while riding in a taxi and cursing another driver for making an improper move, it dawns on most expats…there are rules on these roads. They may not necessarily reflect the law of the land, but at least they see order amidst the chaos.
You see, a Chinese driver has to be constantly aware of his surroundings and operates under a very simple assumption: Nobody else is going to follow the rules.
In America, the opposite is true. We focus straight ahead and assume everybody else will follow the rules. It is for this reason that many Americans have to take a Defensive Driving course. It’s because we suck at it.
Take these examples:
- A driver runs a red light and almost hits me. In China I assume every car that pulls up to a crossing will likely pull out in front of me and I plan accordingly. In America, it’s appalling to think that anybody would break the rules and therefore no notice is given to any cars at a crossing.
- A car merges into my lane without signaling. In China, lanes are not private property and such an intrusion is expected at all times. In America we feel that we own our lane and such a person has invaded private property. Therefore we are compelled to return the favor with a honk and a finger.
- An elderly man crosses the road at a turtle’s pace. In China, I fear hitting pedestrians more than cars. Looking both ways before you cross has never been taught so I’m constantly on the lookout for brave pedestrians. In America we assume everyone will use a crosswalk and even name those who don’t: jaywalkers. What reckless people.
My Theory on Cross-Cultural Driving
My theory boils down to three parts:
- Chinese drivers in the western world are a danger to society
- Western drivers in the Chinese world are a danger to society
- Those who have driven in another culture and returned to their own make the best drivers.
In other words, the best driver is a fusion of one who unquestionably follows the rules, a la American mentality, while assuming others won’t do the same, a la Chinese mentality.
I can’t prove this, of course, but since I fall into category three (the one which makes me look good), I’m going to stick with this theory for now.
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I learned to drive in the states (I’m a pretty good driver I think :D) and I’m scared to death to drive anywhere in China.
As for traffic rules, most drivers in major cities do follow things like traffic signals and speed limits completely (or face a fine in the thousands of rmb). What’s lacking is the sense of right-of-way. Basically, it’s there empty space ahead, it is a free-for-all. Who cares if you’re a bus, car, bike, overloaded tricycle, or pedestrian. The problem here is that the bigger thing usually wins.
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[...] “How China Made Me a Better Driver”, Josh at farwestchina.com talks about his experience of returning to the States after driving in [...]
WOW. i’d be scared!!
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Josh says: April 13th, 2010 at 12:19 am
Don’t get my wrong, I was scared too for the first month of driving! It would have been worse if I had started out driving my first year in China, though.
I actually had about 3 years of “living in China” experience before attempting to get a license. I think that made all the difference in the world because I already had a feel for the roads (i.e. they didn’t seem so chaotic).
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You article pretty much sums up what I have been telling people for years.. if anything, China has made me a better driver..
When I return home (Australia) I have to constantly remind myself to stay in my lane, and drive the correct way around the roundabout..
In 250,000km driving in China I have only touched another car once..
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Josh says: April 12th, 2010 at 11:41 am
250,000!! You’re nuts, my friend. :) I’d love to hear about all the places you drove to, though.
For me the hardest part in coming back to the States was turning on my blinker. Oftentimes it feels so unnecessary!
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my friend compared Chinese traffic to a flock of birds, or a shoal of fish, in that their movement seems completely improbable and yet due to some sort of magnetism in their blood they can get where they’re going without mauling each other… most of the time…
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Josh says: April 13th, 2010 at 5:37 am
That seems like a pretty good analogy :)
To me it’s kind of like those futuristic sci-fi movies that show traffic patterns seamlessly merging and separating without a change in speed. The only difference is that in those movies it’s supposed to be computers controlling the vehicles. In China, it’s people.
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So your Chinese name now is 加什?
I think this is the same conclusion if you are driving in any Asian city. Hehe.
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Josh, great post. Boy do I identify with this. I have not gotten a Chinese drivers license but have more than a totally theoretical understanding of what you are talking about. There is a metaphor here about rules in China and how they are highly situational and power-based (i.e. how fast and how much mass do you have, and how much you don’t care about your life!)
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Josh says: April 13th, 2010 at 3:23 am
Thanks, Elliot! Believe it or not I was actually never really afraid of being pulled over by the cops because I always had the phone number handy of a friend/former student who was a mid-level police officer. One call and I would be off the hook (never used it though :)
That’s so true about the rules being situational and power-based. It all depends on who you are, who you know, or where you are.
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“In 2006 the number of fatal deaths on Chinese roads was double that of the United States, despite the fact that the U.S. reportedly had four times as many licensed cars.”
-yeah, and also despite the fact that U.S. has a population of what 1/4 of China does, and you rarely even see anybody on a street except big cities like Chicago…. Sry, just my stats nerves are working on me…..
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Josh says: April 14th, 2010 at 6:18 am
No need to apologize! I would actually be interested to see the statistics about how many China deaths involve pedestrians. I wasn’t kidding when I said that they were the ones I fear hitting the most. They just run out into the street and expect the cars to avoid them!!
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Josh, et al,
Next week (finger’s crossed) my company’s tri-lingual China driving license test prep app is coming to the iPhone. Full version has 1300 questions. And the English version is complete with bad English. :)
100K miles driving for me… I guy on a bike ran into me then blamed me… so far so lucky.
email me if you want a link dvd at thinknao dot com.
David
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FarWestChina is a website dedicated to opening the door to Xinjiang, China's most mysterious province.
My name is Josh Summers and I have an unexplained passion for this region. Although I now reside in the US, I spent almost 4 years living and traveling in the region and I continue to research the history and stories Xinjiang has to tell. If you're interested there's plenty to read about Xinjiang on this website, or learn about me on my about page.
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