TR EMERITUS

@Maplo

There is weird thinking in sg. One drinking instructor told me that since FTs come from countries where there isn’t an orderly traffic system, they are perceived to be more competent drivers as they drive in appalling traffic conditions in their country as compared to orderly sinkies environment.

Frankly, I agree with the [driving] instructor. When I just received my China DL, I thought that I could handle the road conditions sup sup the water due to my over a decade of driving experience but apparently I was very wrong.

Being a new DL and forbidden from going into the highway during the 1st year, I realised that the hardest road conditions to drive in China are in the cities. The rural roads are not easy too, especially the twists and turns, the 2-way roads that are barely 1.6m in width. Then we have the harderest roads would be those in the various attractions, like ShenNongJia with its numerous 180-degree twists and turns (十回首)， etc. There are plenty of such roads in China where many local drivers have had to call the traffic police for assistance when they shit in their pants, mostly lady drivers with many years of experience. Most of those who appeared on TV and DouYing were seen shaking. lol

Anyway, eventually when I got onto the highway, I realised that it is the easiest, even though the speed is much higher, averaging 120km to 140hm.

To give an idea of what a new driver in China can expect, watch this.

Of the roads mentioned in the article, I have been through “天门山盘山公路”, “昆磨高速” and many others such roads not mentioned in the article. Let me tell you the 1st time I tried these roads was in 宜昌 on my way to holidaying there. It was a mountainous county and a driver would spend 2 hours driving in the mountain. With the twist and turns, my balls almost shrink!

** Lucky for me, I have heard about these road conditions when we decided to make it a point to visit various attractions every year (better times before C19), so I had my cheabo car retrofitted with balancing bars and beams, which helped greatly during such trying conditions. I even changed all of the factory-issued general usage wheels to better-quality ones, that can provide more grip and handle heavier load.

Plainly put, I would opine that any Sinkieland drivers who visit China for the 1st, even if allowed to drive in China mostly won’t be able to handle the road conditions and they would feel very stressful. In fact, that was exactly what the former ISD officer said to me when he went to BeiJing decades ago.

It is therefore my conclusion that unless the Sinkie drivers have nerves of steel and/or have driven to places outside Sinkieland, they probably won’t survive the roads in China, especially the top-tier cities.

@Joker

Ah… you caught it. Nice! I think it is safe to assume that the reader was referring to “driving instructor”. A “drinking instructor” would be detained 2 weeks, fined RMB2000 and barred from driving for 5 years if he ever got onto the road. lol

@xoxo

I do not have the stats for India, but I trust your figures, no argument here.

China-wise, I think I can say something and that may explain why the accident rate is so high. Let me list the following undisputed fact:

1. Both China and India are the most populous country in the world.

2. Practically every household in China (including the rural villages) have some form of a vehicle, be it 2, 3 or 4 wheeler. With the exception of cars that need to enter the city, most of the drivers of other types of vehicle have NO qualified drivers license (DL).

3. Most if not all (not sure) cities in China provide swipe-and-go 2 wheels electric scooters to the public, ANY ONE of ANY AGE can access and use them, as long as you have a mobile phone with Wechat or Alipay. That means that a teenager who is unqualified to possess a DL can also use them. These scooters (I tested) can go up to 40km/h some even more. These electric scooters do NOT require a DL.

4. Although there is an age limit of 70 years old for possessing a DL, some oldies don’t even bother to get one. These people still drive electric cars (not Tesla types), but those cheabo ones costing about RMB 30,000 or less. These vehicles have no license plate, no insurance and do not require a DL. Although these unlicensed vehicles are not allowed in top-tier cities, most traffic police close an eye in other cities. Most of these electric cars are driven by oldies to ferry students, dangerous right?

I could go on and on, but suffice to say, due to the above reason/s, most of those who are on the roads maybe unqualified to drive, never having taken driving lessons or undergone traffic theory tests.

So as a driver, the many things that we have been taught to expect, like turning lights, etc, these drivers don’t even know where the switch is located! And we throw in the fact that these drivers will simply zoom in and out of the various lanes like nobody business, make abrupt turns, abrupt change of lanes, drive beside your car at less than 30cm distance, etc etc etc.

Logic, therefore, dictates that accidents would/should occur. This brings me back to what I said earlier, most non-local drivers would find these road conditions very stressful and taxing and may not be able to adequately deal with these unconventional unqualified drivers.

As a driver in China myself, I find that we are not afraid of conventional cars (4-wheelers) but we do worry more about the 2 wheels ones because they do not follow the rules at all.

@xoxo

I am just happy to share what I know and experienced.

BTW, do you know that some good driving schools in China throw in a complementary course on “how to recover from a skid” AFTER their students have passed their driving tests? I find this helpful for such a HUGE country with different terrain and climate, especially life-saving during winter. This is what the students will learn. [LINK].

Those more ambitious can even go back to driving school to learn “drifting”. [LINK].

P/S: The Tesla cars are shunned in China due to the many deadly accidents they are causing in China. [LINK]