Another Entry about the Stupidity, the Boorishness, the Selfishness, the Impudence and the Utter Overall Lack of Consideration of Wuxi, China Drivers (This Probably Applies to All Mainland China Drivers)

• Many times I have seen local drivers stop in places where they wouldn't if they possessed consideration for the flow of traffic and for other drivers and for other human beings in general. At the entrance gate to our apartment complex, for example, I have seen drivers stop their cars to wait for something, and thus jam up the traffic trying to enter or exit from the complex. And the drivers seem oblivious to the chaos they are causing! Just yesterday, I drove to the local sports center and saw a man stop his car and get out and look around, while seemingly being unaware that he was blocking the entrance lane to the sports complex. I thought for an instant that maybe his car had broken down because his stopping where he was so egregious that it would have had to have been a more rational explanation. But there is just no accounting for the inexplicable ways in which the locals stop or park their cars in busy areas.

• If there was a road going through my kitchen, a local driver wouldn't surely stop in front of the fridge door. If a Westerner needed to stop his car in a kitchen, he would think to not block people from accessing their fridge, but it surely wouldn't occur to a Chinese driver.

• If a there was a road going through my living room, a Western driver would think not to stop in front of the TV; surely a Chinese driver wouldn't.

• If a road went through a maternity ward, impatient local drivers would honk their horns and swerve, instead of slow down, to avoid hitting mothers with new-borns.

• If a road went through a playground, a fast moving car driven by a local would honk his horn to make the children get out of his way.

• Just today, I drove upon a lineup of two cars trying to exit the apartment complex. The driver of the car in front was discussing something with the person in the booth. I was taking a spot at the end of the exit line when a gold-colored BMW came up from behind, and then surprised me by going to the left of the lineup. I thought for an instant that the driver was going to try to cut in line. I then saw that the driver was instead hoping to pass the lineup by having the guy in the booth lift the gate of the entrance lane for her. And she hoped to accomplish this by honking her horn in an impatient manner. What a bitch! I thought. Happily for me, I saw that the man in the booth was too intent on dealing with the driver of the first car in the lineup that he ignored or didn't hear the impatient honking of the battle-ax in the BMW, and eventually she had to go through the same gate as us more patient drivers. All her horn honking accomplished was to provide me more blogging fodder to advance my case that local drivers are very, very impatient and lacking in consideration. (I will say that I am impressed how these damn locals find a new ways to be more impatient and boorish.)

• I was at gate with my son Tony because I was to drive him downtown. On my drive, I witnessed more examples of local driver impudence, thought not rising to the level of that bitch I saw in the previous entry:

1. First, a guy making a U-turn in the worst possible spot for other drivers. I have written about an uncontrolled T-junction intersection (a side street joining a main road) where the authorities decided to put my barriers so that cars couldn't make left turns. The end result is a junction where one can only make right turns onto the side street or right turns onto the main road from the side street. So, the side road is not accessible to cars driving on the far side of the main road. I think this is a great setup because it is much safer. Local drivers took great risks making left turns at the junction when it didn't have the barriers. However, the setup has resulted in an unforeseen consequence. The main road dead-ends at another T-junction about a kilometer from the first junction. A few drivers who would have made a left turn from the main road onto the side road have started to make U-turns at this other junction. However the road there is only two lanes wide. So, what I have seen are cars having to back up a bit when trying to make the U-turn and thus block other cars trying to turn from the other road. Driving Tony downtown just now, I saw a long u-turning sedan block about ten cars trying to turn. It had to back up, but couldn't because the cars that were behind it weren't giving it space to back up.

2. Second, a driver , talking on his mobile phone, straddling lanes. I was in the left lane. A car in front of me was one-quarter in my lane and three-quarters in the lane to the right. I had to honk my horn to get the car to correct itself. I saw that the driver, a middle-aged local with a born in the countryside look about him, talking on his mobile phone. I honked my horn loud and long at him when he saw what he was doing and it did seem to interrupt his phone conversation.

3. Third, cars parked so-close to me that I had little room to maneuver out. I have seen cars parallel-parked so closely that I wonder how cars stuck between two other cars could get out. I mean I swear the bumpers on both sides were inches apart. Surely, the drivers knew each other and so they could get away with doing that. But when Tony & I came out from his drumming class, I saw two cars, parallel-parked on either side me, had left me with little room to get out. I did get out, but I was tempted to kick the bumper of one of the cars. And it goes to show you that the locals don't care about strangers.

4. Fourth, a car in the middle lane slowing down and unexpectedly making a right turn without turn signals. I was moving on a road that was three lanes wide. I was in the middle lane. The vehicle in front of me, without any warning and no signals, made a right turn. Happens a lot and I would have normally forgotten about it, but the last few days, I had seen far too much bad driving.

• I suppose the lockdown making me more irate has contributed to my wanting to make this entry. The only contact I have had with others during this lockdown has been with my wife, who is angry at me half the time, and with the local drivers in traffic. So, it is hard for me to have a good opinion of Mainland Chinese humanity.

• Am I a good driver? I was. But I have been in Mainland China too long and it has corrupted me. I have adopted the inconsiderate habits of the locals and sometimes I give into the temptation to scare the pants of some local who is going the wrong way but playing chicken with him. I also like to slow the impatient drivers who annoy me.

• The way Mainland Chinese cheat and lack consideration in traffic shows that the rest of the world should have been wary of doing business with them. Maybe, Decoupling is necessary. Maybe, dealing with Mainland China was never a good idea.