A view of cars on the third ring road in Beijing March 18, 2008. China recorded 5.1 road accident deaths for every 10,000 motor vehicles last year, the highest in the world, Xinhua news agency said on Friday. (REUTERS/China Daily)
Posted on 03/22/2008 7:20:27 AM PDT by JACKRUSSELL
(BEIJING) - China recorded 5.1 road accident deaths for every 10,000 motor vehicles last year, the highest in the world, Xinhua news agency said on Friday.
The world average was two deaths per 10,000 vehicles, the agency said, quoting a source at a China Traffic Safety Forum.
"According to the Ministry of Public Security, since 1996 China has ranked first worldwide in terms of traffic deaths," Xinhua said.
Road accidents claimed 81,649 lives nationwide last year in a population of 1.3 billion, 7,806 fewer than in 2006.
China's roads have long been dangerous, a result of drivers who switch lanes without signalling, ignore traffic lights, speed down the wrong side of the road or throw their vehicles into reverse when they have missed a highway exit.
A view of cars on the third ring road in Beijing March 18, 2008. China recorded 5.1 road accident deaths for every 10,000 motor vehicles last year, the highest in the world, Xinhua news agency said on Friday. (REUTERS/China Daily)
Doesn’t surprise me.
Having ridden in cabs in the mainland, this is proof that those cabs(and Chinese built vehicles in general) are death traps. Also worthy of mention is the Chinese utter inability to orderly follow traffic rules. Red light doesn’t mean stop, it means stop only if a crash is imminent.
Yep, those things would just about do it! They make road rage look tame.
In China, the right of way belongs to the biggest, heaviest vehicle.
A PLA truck, has the right of way. If you are in a smaller truck and a bigger truck is coming, you have to move away.
If you are in a car, you have to yield to a truck.
Motorcycles have less rights than cars.
Bicycles, less than motorcycles.
If you’re not sure how many lanes of traffic a street has, divide the width of the road, by the width of the average car presently on that section of road...
“But the sleazy plaintiff lawyers in America will still tell the jury that American road is “Blood Alley” just to squeeze money out of the taxpayers that pay to build and maintain it.”
Huh?
Driving in China is like the flow of a river...water runs where it can...cars/trucks/pedestrians make use of every space...nothing is left unfilled.
And the rule of the lugnuts...he who has the most lugnuts makes the rules...is supreme.
Stay safe!
I think a big part of it relates to pedestrians and cyclists who heedlessly lurch out into traffic without looking both ways. Part of the problem is that Chinese roads, even in built up areas, consist of long stretches without traffic lights or pedestrian overpasses for foot traffic to cross. Another important factor is the fact that the Chinese I have met do not buckle up, ever - so even low speed collisions are fatal.
I spent 2 weeks in China this past August.
We had our chinese distributor drive and I caught him nodding at 160 km/hour. Twice a lane closure he didn’t see.
I sit in the back.
They pass on the right or left shoulder while a cop is right next to them. All this at 160 km/hr.
I’m leaving for a 2 week stint 3-31, not looking forward to the road or the chicken feet breakfast.
Great place to loose weight.
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