Without a doubt the
first thing an American will notice upon arrival in Beijing is the massive
amount of people, and consequently the massive amount of cars composing
Beijing’s traffic. However, unlike in any comparable city in the United States,
Beijing’s car and pedestrian traffic does not appear to obey any traffic laws.
Cars drive down the wrong side of the street, swerve around each other,
narrowly avoiding running into each other, honking wildly, or running down
passersby. Pedestrians regularly defy traffic laws, walking through busy
intersections while lights are red and jaywalk across multi-lane roads.
Meanwhile a variety of scooters and bicycles make their way through the throng.
The question of how Beijing and China’s traffic as a
whole developed so chaotically relates directly to the rising economic factors
of the country. As Chinese citizens of Beijing earn more money, a car becomes
more affordable and desirable. Many couples are gifted a car when they get
married, and the upwardly-mobile population of China has determined cars are
the new statement of prosperity. Of immediate note is the fact that Beijing
traffic does not follow the rule of Right of Way for pedestrians or other
vehicles. Initially there were so few cars in Beijing that the few which did
drive around the city were given right of way over pedestrians or bicyclers who
rarely saw automobiles. However, as the car gained its popularity in China, the
rule remained the same and pedestrians still regularly yield to cars. This
means that crosswalks are particularly dangerous around the times the crosswalk
sign is changing, because if a pedestrian is not off the street or at least out
of the way of traffic they are likely to be run over in the flood of oncoming
traffic.
Honking a car horn also has changed its meaning
entirely in China. American drivers typically only honk their horns when they
are angry, frustrated, or upset with other drivers on the road, typically those
not following the rules of the road. In Beijing, honking of car horns is used
to notify people that a car is nearby and coming through a street; it is less a
sign of frustration and anger and more a warning signal to pedestrians and
other cars to watch out and pay attention. This usage is quite outside the
normal American point of view and can lead the casual observer to believe that
Beijing car drivers are chronically angry at each other.
Pedestrian foot traffic also shares its part of the
blame in this picture of road-bound chaos. Pedestrians will regularly step off
of sidewalks, walk through the middle of side streets, and cross at crosswalks
that are not signaling that it is safe to pass. Many times at busy
intersections pedestrians will form crowds at both sides of a street they know
is about to change to a green light, walking across before the light changes.
These mass movements of people serve to dramatically change the flow of Beijing
traffic almost entirely without planning, defying the timing of traffic signals
and leaving cars with a mob of people crossing in front of them. In this way,
running a yellow light as a car can end up killing people.
Regardless of the described situation, I have yet to
see a serious car accident in Beijing involving cars or pedestrians. Official
reports from 2010 have only recorded 450,000 car accidents yearly in Beijing,
which seems large but is close to the official figures reported for New York
annual car accidents. Whatever the future brings for Beijing, the traffic
probably won’t improve.
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