From Asia #1
I've seen a lot of stuff here, both last visit and this one already, but there's one image that I can't get out of my mind, and it's made me physically ill to see and think about.The traffic here is something horrendous. I mean terrifying. There are from 1 to 4 lanes all going at the same time, merging, weaving, shifting constantly. It goes from three lanes to a single lane, while someone else is making a three point turn in the middle of a major street, and someone from the opposite direction is passing in the oncoming traffic lane just because they can. I'm honestly not sure what gets you a traffic ticket here, but I'm thinking nothing less than vehicluar manslaughter would approach it. And that I suspect is $15 and two points off your license. There are left turn lanes from the far right side, there are right turn lanes from the far left. There are dedicated lanes (sometimes) for scooters, motorcycles, motorbikes, mopeds and bicycles.
I could never drive here. If I did, I'd be the road hazard!
But all that isn't the horrifying image I have. No. There are two that I'll relate. One was a couple on a scooter. He was driving, she was sitting behind him on the seat. Clutched to her bosom was a baby, no more that 6 months old, tops, crushed between her breasts while they maneuvered this traffic monster. And she was hanging on to the baby, not to the man, so she was ready to fall off at any second.
The second is the one that really sticks with me.
It was a woman, on her scooter. She was well dressed, with patent leather high heels and the frilly see through socks they wear with them here. She was turning into traffic but decided that no, she didn't want to go the way the flow was going on her side. So she turned into the oncoming traffic and started driving the wrong way, making her way to a pedestrian crossing to cross the street. There, standing on the floor of the scooter, was a child, no older than my youngest. She was clutching mom's knees and staring up at her in terror and mom was totally oblivious to it. One misstep and the child was into the traffic and doomed for death. And here that's taken as "normal".
Terrifying.
Labels: Shanghai
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