Stereotypes in America accuse Asians of being horrible drivers, and I just think that Asian immigrant drivers are not used to the rules and driving etiquettes here in America. I actually think otherwise; that Americans’ driving skills are not at the Chinese level: the Chinese can maneuver through the busiest traffic given that their population is extremely large and perfect parallel parking.
I have been in China so many times before, but never have I ever realized or noticed how much their driving methods differ from ours. Firstly, there is no such thing as a One Way Street like we have in America. No matter how narrow the road is, cars are allowed to enter from either side of the street. I was surprised when I learned that first hand — when I sat in a car facing another car driving in my direction on a road I thought was too narrow to fit two cars side by side. To resolve the situation, I learned from multiple experiences, whichever car entered the street last, has to back up and allow the first car to pass, or the two cars, so professionally done, manage to pass each other side-by-side without scraping each other’s doors.
Secondly, it is normal to park with cars face to face. Refer to the image below:
I took that picture from the door of the hotel I was staying at. I spent a few minutes staring at those cars every time I exited and entered the hotel. It was supposedly a common method, because on this particular street, it was only allowed to park on one side of the street due to how narrow the street was. So it made sense. Kind of. In a way. In America, I usually take a quick glance for the direction the parked cars face, and I immediately know from which way the cars will be coming from when I cross the street. It definitely took me my entire stay in that city to get used to the fact that it was okay to park in whichever way possible. This encounter only left me more impressed of the Chinese’ skill in driving and parking.
Quick Relevant Fact: In some Chinese cities, to be more environmentally friendly by avoiding too much CO2 emissions and to eliminate frequent traffic jams, the government issued laws that cars with license plates that begin with an odd number can only drive on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Similarly, license plates that begin with an even number can only drive on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. This encourages civilians to take public transportation or bike to work or school. – I think this idea is simply ingenious.
You uttered a bold statement that completely counters American stereotype, and you backed it up with solid evidence. That photo really says a lot.
I never realized how they drove in China but it sounds really hard and complex. I would never be able to drive all the way back to let another car go past me, so the one way streets here are really helpful. The parking facing another car would also be difficult to me. This is good evidence in disproving the stereotypes that Asians can’t drive well.
I didn’t know people park like that in China. It’s definitely something daring to have no rules on what position to park or which way to drive. It really takes a lot of self-coordination and confidence to do that.
Your story reminded me of my friend’s brother (Asian) who loves to drive. He is definitely reckless when it comes to driving in NYC. I once rode on his car with my friends to New Jersey, he would drive close to other cars to get past them or to find a parking spot (he thinks that is a battle that cannot be lost) and drift even though there are so many cars passing by. It was almost scary to be in his car. But he was skilled so that nothing happened. And I bet it wouldn’t be weird if people in China were like my friend’s brother where there are logistics in driving on a road.
Yep. I forgot to mention that in China, streets are really crowded, and it’s actually common that the cars are like practically bumper to bumper. Maybe like 2 inches in between, but he’d be slacking. I remember a time when I was riding a double decker bus, I sat at the very first window seat looking out to the front of the bus on the second floor, and the bus stopped less than a foot away from the double decker in front of us. I thought we were going to crash, and that’s the view the drivers get there all the time.
Great information on the odd and even regulations. I had never heard about it before.