How did the Chicken Cross the Road?

Ignoring all the Signs

How do they do it?  How do those massive flocks of birds fly as a single unit and make it look so easy?  How do they become this whimsical black cloud that twists, turns, veers and converges without so much as a hint of hesitation?  How do they dive, soar, spin, separate and rejoin without even the slightest suggestion of a collision?  How do they do it?

How do schools of fish move as a solid block of shimmering color and make it look like a preplanned, choreographed routine?  How do they glide, dip, rotate, reverse direction and resume their path when there is no apparent road to follow?  How do they zoom, dash, dart and dance in unison under the waves and manage to stay out of each other’s way?  How do they do it?

How do the drivers in China all cram onto the same roads, drive like banshees wearing blindfolds and come out of it alive?  How do they navigate, merge, about face, break, accelerate arbitrarily only to break again and still manage to get where they are going?  How can they ignore all road rules, and disregard all traffic signs and signals?  How can they sway and swerve wildly from lane to lane, turn in front of cars, stop for no apparent reason and drive the wrong way into oncoming traffic and still manage to avoid getting into an accident?  How do they do it?

There are certain beautiful anomalies and inexplicable truths about nature, and I’ve concluded that driving in China is one of them.  It’s the ultimate example of wrong being right.  Back in America we are such sticklers for rules on the road that we become complacent and depend on them.  We are surprised and outraged when someone doesn’t follow them.  And yet, with all these rules to make the road a safer place, I see more accidents back home than I do here in China. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly not advocating we do away with rules and start driving the way they do here, I’m merely sharing an observation that still amazes and entertains me every time I get sandwiched between a bus and some massive truck while crossing the road.  (Yes, in America this would be suicide, but in China this is normal). 

Summary:  If you ever hit the road in China, hold on tight and enjoy the ride.  Remember, chickens don’t cross the road here; you have grow a pair and go for it.  Trust the system and respect that though it’s very different than home, that’s ok.  There is no rhyme or reason for why it works, it simply does.  Again, enjoy the ride.

Friendly reminder, next time you judge any “Asian driver” give them a break and understand that they are probably doing a much better job adapting to driving in the States than any of us would ever do driving over here.  It took me a good couple of weeks just to figure out how to cross the road without causing a major traffic incident.  That said, I can’t wait to be back home where a crosswalk and a walk signal actually means it’s safe to cross the street.