People Returning to China Are Afraid To Drive

Years ago, a friend picked me up along with a Chinese-American friend at the Beijing Airport. In the car, my Chinese-American friend, gripping an armrest, would say, “Slow down, hold on, let him go first…”

My friend driving, getting a little annoyed, could only say to her, “If I drive the way you tell me to, we won’t even get there by 12.” Then my driving friend proceeded to show off his driving skills in the most dangerous ways possible while arriving at our destination safely. When we exited the car, I saw my American friend’s foot slightly trembling.

A lot of my friends who return from America say that they don’t dare go into their cars. Another thing is that my friends who leave to live in America are not accustomed to driving, either. A lot of experienced drivers in China would think, “I’ve been driving in China for at least 20 years, so testing for an American permit should be a piece of cake,” then find out later that it’s not that simple.

Passing Cars

Here is something I read about Liang Xiaosheng online:

One time in France, Liang Xiaosheng sat in a car with two other old writers on the way to the suburbs. It was a windy day. In front of them drove a station wagon containing two pretty little French girls who were constantly looking back at them. The tires of the car in front sprayed dirt at their windshield. He asked the driver, “Can you pass him?” The driver said, “Passing on this road is impolite.”

As he said this, the car in front [of him] stopped. A gentleman came out toward them and whispered something to their driver, then returned to his car and drove his car to the side to let them go first.

Mr. Liang asked his driver, “What did he say to you?” The driver replied, “He said that they were in front of us this whole time, which was unfair. He even said that since his daughters were with him, he could not let them believe that this is how it should be.”

In the end, Mr. Liang said that this sentence made him feel ashamed for several days.

One of my blog friends who drove alone on Route 66 was in awe of how conscientious many American drivers are. Passing lanes are used only for passing, so lines of cars can be frequently seen on downhill roads.

The Key Is To Adapt

I also read a Los Angeles friend’s blog about driving in the U.S.

One time, at a busy crossroad in Los Angeles, the traffic lights were broken, and there were 20 or 30 vehicles on every side, but even without traffic lights or police, traffic flowed in an orderly fashion.

Looking carefully, he noticed that after a car on the horizontal road drove out, the car behind it stopped, the car on the vertical road was next, and the car behind it stopped, too. With this sort of judgment, everyone took turns. So, there really is a system, and nobody behind honks and tries to cut.

He was shocked at this scene. People can drive like this without police or traffic signals?

He says that the image of the street was peaceful, but his heart was pounding, his mind racing. How is this system created? How do drivers cultivate this tacit rule?

When “privileged” cars, like school buses and public transportation vehicles, stop and children walk off, all cars stop behind it.

Think about it: It isn’t that hard to understand that in America, a country full of “systems,” everyone who drives follows the law. It is easy for them not to charge ahead, and those who do pass, signal. On top of that, pedestrians cross first. These customs are not developed in a day or two, but via years of experience. In China, where lines of drivers put their lives at risk, it is definitely frightening and extremely unadaptable.

To drive in New York, it is definitely important to remember not to park within 10 to 20 meters of a fire hydrant; regardless of how broken it is, the police could give you a ticket.