On Traffic

For those of you who have never experienced traffic in China, I can tell you that the experience is quite interesting. At first, it seems that cars meander through the streets as though their drivers believed they were the only beings on earth. Left lane to right lane to straddling the line to nearly plowing through a group of elderly pedestrians, sudden stops, near misses, close encounters of the motor vehicular kind, all to find the smallest possible hole through which the car will fit in order to shave those few precious seconds or minutes from the trip. (Pedestrians do this too, but it is a less harrowing experience to the unitiated.)

Crossing busy streets at intersections with traffic lights seems like a reasonably easy thing, but woe to he that abides only the lights! Those winking sirens of the intersection, like the painted white and yellow lines on the road, tempt you. But look out! Where did that bus come from? Get back! The taxi turning right may signal with his horn, but that doesn’t mean he intends to slow down. The best advice for beginners (and I count myself among them) is to fasten oneself mentally to a local when crossing the street and do as he or she does. Thus can you successfully dispatch with another level of human Frogger.

I have lately discovered, though, after numerous taxi and bus rides, and many miles of travel on foot, that once the fog of this initial impression lifts, there is a very natural flow to the movement of cars and people. It reminds me of fish swimming in a current. Cars and people may come close but they all find their spot and move on. Road rage, accidents, and squished human remains are nowhere in evidence. Just a whole lot of people on the move, trying to do so as efficiently as they can. It’s an awesome thing, really, once you learn not to fight it.