More Traffic Jam News
Since the widely publicized news of the massive traffic jam near Beijing earlier in the week, there have been new conflicting reports. First there were
reports an NBC reporter that went to see the 60 day traffic jam did not find one. It reportedly had vanished and only occasional tie-ups or slow-downs at toll booths remained. Authorities evidently stepped in overnight after seeing the news being broadcast around the world.
However,
The NY Times reported an officer admitted that the highway being cleared overnight was "impossible". Even if cleared, the congestion would certainly be back soon. The highway is important in bringing much needed coal from Mongolia to power plants in Hebei. That highlights one of the infrastructure issues affecting China, as reported by the Times. The Chinese government can cut through and build rapidly, but still cannot keep up with the demand of the large population intent on catching up with the world.
I could relate to both points. It was common to see the government make decisions rapidly and get things built fast. And it could easily be understood that the government could
eliminate the traffic jam by massive overnight effort of police and other resources. But there were always so many people and fast economic growth, that one could even see that the massive efforts could still not keep up.
But I also couldn't understand the traffic jam for another reason. I can tell you my driver, and most I ever saw in the Dongguan area, would never be caught in a long traffic jam. On one occasion my driver did a 180 turn in the middle of a highway and just headed right into oncoming traffic for about a mile to get off an exit ramp we had just passed - all to avoid a tie-up notice he noticed ahead. And in another jam, my driver went the wrong way down an entrance ramp to get away from the jam, as reported in
"Wrong Way Home" post in July 2007. Most drivers would just do anything like that to get out of a jam. I don't know how so many were patient for days near Beijing. They probably weren't.
Labels: China News, China roads, traffic
China & Warmer
Well, I’m back in China and yes, it’s finally getting a little warmer. Of course, that is after I purchased an additional space heater to try to warm my apartment. It has done nicely. Only I almost wish it didn’t have a fancy digital register on it. It tells the actual temperature, something I really didn’t need to know. Even when I plugged it in, after temperatures had risen in Dongguan, I was rather surprised to find the temperature at 16°C. Heck that’s only 60°F!! No wonder I’ve been cold!
Getting back to China was not so easy, as all things seem to be here sometimes. I had changed flights from Bangkok to Guangzhou from Sunday to Thursday. Not being sure of the seats, I had to go to the airport early last Thursday. That part was okay. But of course, little China Southern made me run from one end of the biggest single airport terminal in the world to the other and back to get my ticket. It seems they can’t accept payment and made me go to Thai Airways service center a mile away for the transaction, before I had to return to claim my ticket.
And of course, wouldn’t ya know it, I got to Guangzhou on time only to receive a call from my company people, that my driver couldn’t get to the city! No, they had closed the highway to Guangzhou. It was open to Dongguan, but a section of the elevated highway had collapsed slightly and was now closed.
So I had to take a bus!
And then cabs were again the joke of Dongguan. They had a taxi stand near the bus terminal, but of course, taxi after taxi would pull in and announce they only wanted to go to Houjie for a big fare. They didn’t want to take any of the many passengers mulling around looking for a ride across the city. No they had to make us wait for other taxis for another 30 minutes.
Labels: China roads, China Weather, Dongguan, Life in China
A "Nose" Takes the Lane
Did you know that if you get the nose of a vehicle into a lane you can take that lane? That seems to be the main premise to driving in China. Just get there first, and the lane is yours. No matter how little of the bumper you can get in first.
I’m amazed daily riding the streets of Dongguan. Cars move along at a steady pace, cutting off one another, switching lane after lane, and yet seldom wrecking. Okay, yes there are still more traffic deaths here than most countries, but to watch the daily driving rituals, you would expect even more. To go 30 miles and not see an accident just seems a miracle. The way most people drive, I sure count every mile without an accident a miracle.
With seemingly less than an inch of space, you often see trucks, cars, and busses just nose their vehicle into a lane. Then with that little gap of advantage, swoosh, they speed into the lane and take over the space. Give an inch, and they take a car length!
And even more amazing is that no one seems to care! Seldom do you see anyone upset that someone has just “cut them off.” They just go along as if it’s part of the game and do the same to someone else! Do these things in the US and you would have guns drawn in road rage!
Who said you need several car lengths of space to safely move to another lane. That is certainly not the philosophy here.
Labels: China roads, Dongguan, Life in China
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!
This is full work area, and only barriers and warning for the construction in this lane. At least they put up the red flags at this one.
Labels: China roads, Dongguan, Life in China
Motorcycles in Dongguan
Today is the last first day of a month that motorcycles can legally ride the streets of Dongguan. Come September 1 they are banned. It wasn’t a good start for at least one rider.
There were two major wrecks along the way to work this morning. At least we stayed out of harm’s way. One truck had plowed into a light pole with major damage. In the other, a motorcycle was under the wheel of another truck in a more serious accident. I’m not sure how the driver fared, but id didn’t look good.
September 1 all motorcycles, and even the e-bikes – those pedal and stored energy types – will be banned from the highways here. That should cut down on these accidents. And the way they drive – carefree and reckless – I won’t miss them.
I wonder what all the motorcycle taxi drivers will do. Did you know that you pretty much barter the fare on those rides? And they can often cost more than an regular taxi! Because in congested traffic, they can scoot through and get you to a location quicker. Just not necessarily safer.
The motorcycle taxi drivers do wear helmets. Seldom do you see anyone else wear a helmet. But, by the way, passengers on a motorcycle taxi never get a helmet. I just can’t quite imagine jumping on a motorcycle with a half crazy driver wearing a helmet, when I would not be given one!
And speaking of accidents, I came very close to being in one this past Saturday. Coming home from work, I was almost asleep in the car, when my driver came to a rather abrupt stop at one traffic light. It startled me a little and I looked up to see that we were at a stop light. Not a big surprise there. But then……….
I heard something squeal to our left. Looking past my driver, I saw a large transfer truck was braking and bouncing rather hard on an angle to our side. As I looked back out the rear of our car, I could see that his long flat-bed was in our lane! And he was practically at an angle over our car!! He must have not expected us to stop and probably wasn’t planning to stop himself. When we stopped, it took all his power to use the lane to the left of us to stop and just avoid us only because he was over us!
At least we were lucky on this one! All in a day’s fun of riding the roads of Dongguan!
Labels: China, China roads, Dongguan
