Hit and Run. Panic in the Streets.

I can always count on traffic to give me something to blog about. I saw my first ever hit and run this morning. I have seen plenty of accidents in Wuxi, China. But, this is the first that I saw the before, the collision, and a fleeing on the part of one of the parties involved.

It happened while I was taking the bus to work. The bus was stopped at an intersection. An electric bike carrying an office desk ran through the intersection going in the opposite direction the bus was facing. Meanwhile, another electric bike started to make a left turn in front of the bus. Both cyclists were in the wrong. The bike carrying the desk ran a red light. The bike making the left turn was going the wrong way. The bikes didn't see each other till it was too late. They both made efforts to avoid the collision. The cyclist making the left turn had the worse of the collision. He was knocked down and I clearly remember seeing the side of his head striking the pavement though, not too hard. The cyclist moving the desk wasn't knocked down. However, one of the drawers of the desk fell on the ground. The cyclist, knocked down, quickly got up. But he had to have been hurt and he wasn't wearing an helmet. The cyclist with the desk carried on. He didn't bother to look back. He didn't bother to pick up the drawer. He could be seen slowly riding away from the scene.

I have been told that the hit and run cyclist's behavior is common here and that it is almost the suggested action. The other cyclist would demand money and compensation.


Student speech topic: circumcision.


Last evening, on DVD, I watched Panic in the Streets with Richard Widmark and Jack Palance. A find motion picture with hammy acting but with good editing and a swift-moving story.