Collision Course

In my last blog on China, I emphasized the courtesy and kindness of the Chinese people. This applies to every aspect -- except when it comes to driving.

What I observed was like something one cannot imagine unless one sees it him or herself. You have cars, motorcycles, and bicycles -- oh my! -- going in all directions, including cars on the sidewalk. Our adoption group thought it would be safe to stroll our babies on the sidewalk -- until an SUV decided to drive behind our non-motorized vehicles.

We got the message and moved out of its way. I say "it" because it's hard to believe that a human being would come so close to hitting people with strollers, and in such a cavalier way.

It is sort of like walking in a world where a bunch of Chitty Chitty Bang Bangs have run amock.

Within our first day at Nanchang, we witnessed a motorcycle and car collide. Looked like no one was hurt, but it was very unnerving, especially since the drivers seemed to treat that near-death experience as just something that one experiences calmly in the normal course of life. At least I thought so, as I thought I saw a truck coming head-on toward our bus on a highway. But perhaps it was a mirage, as it felt hotter than the desert during our stay.

Ironically, it was the few gazillion pedestrians who stunned me; it seemed their life mission was to get killed under a four- to 16-wheeler. I saw it with my own eyes: pedestrians walking or bikers biking right in front of a bus in motion. At first I would wince, praying we wouldn't hit anyone (we didn't), but after awhile, I got a little used to it and just sweated a little more.

After observing the drive-o-rama madness in China, I really gained an appreciation for American drivers. Other than the occasional road rage incident (the Chinese seem too polite to have road rage), American drivers and pedestrians seem to care about what happens to their cars and whoever happens to be in or around them.

Beth L. Gainer is a professional writer and has published numerous academic and magazine articles, as well as an essay on her breast cancer experience in the anthology Voices of Breast Cancer by LaChance Publishing. She writes about medical advocacy at www.bethlgainer.blogspot.com, and her cat Hemi blogs at www.catterchatter.blogspot.com. Beth teaches writing and literature at Robert Morris University in the Chicago area. She can be contacted at bethlgainer@gmail.com and gainercallingtheshots@gmail.com. She also blogs on the adventures of her cats, Hemi and Cosette, at http://www.catterchatter.blogspot.com./.