A Bryson in China: Pothole Season

Friday, August 31, 2007

Pothole Season

Ah, it’s roadwork season in Dongguan. Yes, the hot spell ended with a flurry of typhoons, followed by that scourge of every road system, the pothole. And we do have our share here.

When it was raining for days on end (at least at seemed that way), the roads were taking a beating from the heavy truck traffic on water soaked asphalt. As is often the case, the water got under and loosened the tarmac enough for trucks and other heavy vehicles to pull out huge chunks.

Driving through one downpour to get home one recent night, my driver didn’t see one of the potholes. I sure felt it. The car sounded and felt like it had fallen into an abyss. The jerk of my head was strong enough to jar my teeth as they slammed against each other. The next day we could see the huge pothole, and several more along the highway.

So, China road crews have sprung into action. Repair work is underway up and down the highways. Only the safety element NOT employed at these construction repair sites is even more startling. Never a country to take up too much space to do anything that could hamper traffic; only one little area is ever consumed in any repair. It almost looks like there is a goal of not taking up more space.

The warning area in front of the repair work is usually limited to about 2 car lengths. What is the stopping distance of a car doing 80 km/hr when it sees such a barrier and has to move over? Let’s just say, I wouldn’t want to be a road crew worker out there in that little space!