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[kitano]

As an aside. 2 people I know have been involved in ebike crashes this year so I would recommend getting a basic insurance package to cover accident and emergency. If your employer doesn't give you one it only cost about 1000 or 2000 of your own money for a year and it is worth it (ask your boss to arrange it if they won't pay). My friend broke his arm and that cost him more than 1000 in scans and treatment a couple of weeks ago and you really don't know what is going to happen with the state of the driving and so on over here.

I was riding to the supermarket today and a bus just came hurtling around the corner at about 30 and missed me by a metre

[SilverMay]

Hi all, Thanks for your kind words.

You can see me in the video in front of the guy with the fur hood. So needless to say I'm thanking who ever is out there watching over me. 

Hopefully my friends will make a full recovery!

[Granny Mae]

Glad to hear that you are safe SilverMay and that SPV chose the right time to go to the toilet. I hope things work out well for your mates.

[Fozzwaldus]

God that is terrifying. Glad nobody was more seriously hurt...

[SpV]

Thanks all for your kind words, despite how horrible the entire thing has been, all involved have, in an odd way, a lot to be thankfull for.

A lot of schools, especially their owners get a bad rap a lot of the time, I have to say though, the school SM and I work for and the school my injured friend works for really could not have done more to help, they have been absolute stars!!

A lawyer has now been hired and hopefully things will start happening with regards to some compo, the aboluste minumum my friend needs is his wages for all the time he will miss from work!

[Escaped Lunatic]

Oh man - I'm sorry your friend got hurt, but am amazed he wasn't hurt a lot worse.  I guess that poor workmanship on the front counter can be a lifesaver sometimes.  In the video, it looks like the moron was lined up on the spot with the most people, so I'm not sure how SilverMay and whoever was on the other side avoided getting hurt.

I'm sure some foreign guests in the USA wonder about all the thick concrete and steel posts between parking spaces and the front of some fast food and convenience stores.  It's to stop drunk and/or stupid people from creating their own personal drive thru lanes.

[SpV]

Oh man - I'm sorry your friend got hurt, but am amazed he wasn't hurt a lot worse.  I guess that poor workmanship on the front counter can be a lifesaver sometimes.  In the video, it looks like the moron was lined up on the spot with the most people, so I'm not sure how SilverMay and whoever was on the other side avoided getting hurt.

The guy on the other side got hurt pretty bad, some deep cuts but no broken bone, he got outta hospital the other day. Can't really walk very well at the moment so SilverMay and I will be doing his shopping for a while.

How SM didn't get anything more than 2 small cuts is beyond me, I guess she has someone watching over her.

[Senor Boogie Woogie]

In the hinterlands, there are few traffic laws and no traffic cops. Outside of Shanghai and Beijing, I would fear nothing from the police if I took an occasional drive, and I did that once. I was not scared of the cops, but more of hitting someone else.

People, especially in the provinces outside the city, drink and drive. There is no police to stop them. I did know a Chinese guy who got a DUI when he crashed his van into a pole or something. He did 15 days in jail. There was someone else who had gotten a DUI (I think he was Japanese) who was sweating about what the prison system will be like (cold showers, chou dofu and warm Siwo Beer for all meals, being forced to watch Chinese television which is a worst fate than anal rape from Mike Tyson).

The driving in China is nuts, and it always has been. Took the highway home from wife's hometown. Had a lady drive me (it is not about her sex, 95% of the people drive like morons)back to Hangzhou. She lane changed everywhere, and rode on the shoulder. Everybody used the shoulder as a passing lane. Then there were the a**hole drivers who drove too fast and was tailgating people. Just incredible, stupid impatience. Another thing I always notice is the weird habit of blocking the back window with pillows and sh*t. The back window is very important when it comes to driving and seeing who is behind you. Most drivers do not find this to be important, they only look forwards and cut people off.

[Senor Boogie Woogie]

To finish, there is a male friend of my wife. They have done business together and he was a really nice guy, and we have drank beer and partied, and I met his child and wife a few times. Nice guy.

But when this guy drove !!!! Drives too fast, pass cars on hills, impatient, just a goddamned maniac. I was honestly scared, but my wife would scold me if I said anything to him. Slow down! There is no hurry!

Chinese New Years 2011, we had a boy drive us to the village and the same thing. However, I told this guy to slow the fk down. There was no need to haul ass down there. In the end with the speeding and crap, you only save us 5 minutes or so.

Lastly, my wife's driving. She drives slow. Like an old lady. Then she will talk on the phone while she is driving which drives me nuts. Once, several years ago, we were driving to Jiangsu and she got a phone call and stopped the car on the highway with me going  . She does not listen to me. I have been driving for over 25 years, her about 5. I do not want to drive here, but I would like to be legally able too, but the wife still would not let me drive. "This is China." "You don't know China." etc. Personally, I do not want it nor need it. I do not like her driving because as the OP said, there are a lot of drunks and arseholes on the road and I dont want my wife hurt.

[fox]

The back window is very important when it comes to driving and seeing who is behind you. Most drivers do not find this to be important, they only look forwards and cut people off.

I find that there is so much going on infront of you that you daren't look back incase you miss some plep cutting infront of you.

[Ruth]

Wow SpV and SilverMay. I'm just now reading this. I am so sorry that your friends were hurt, but so thankful that, relatively speaking, they will be okay and that you guys are okay. Keep us posted on the healing of your friend and on what ultimately happens legally to the driver and car owner. I'm curious to know how these things are handled in China.

It's good to know that your schools are being supportive.

In the hinterlands, there are few traffic laws and no traffic cops.

I would agree with you, Senor, except for something I experienced. I lived in a small city in Liaoning for 3 years. I never drove there, nor did I desire to. I believe it is a typical small city in that donkey carts, three-wheeled taxis, bicycles, motorcycles, taxis, meandering pedestrians, trucks, buses and BMWs compete for the same road space. The traffic rules seemed to be: anything goes and total mayhem, yet it all seemed to work. Five years ago I moved to a big city in southern China where my husband purchased a car. Eventually I got my Chinese driving license and I do enjoy the freedom and convenience driving here allows me. Last year for Spring Festival we returned to our Chinese hometown to visit old friends. We stood outside our hotel and waved for a taxi. Not one would stop. Finally one driver stopped around the corner and motioned us to walk over there. What?? Not stopping on a dime wherever there's a potential passenger? Later we were dining with several friends where ganbeing baijiu is the norm. The driver wouldn't drink - not a drop. We asked why, as this was new behavior and seemed rather paranoid. There is a new mayor in the city and the rules have changed. There are traffic cameras and they are used. People are fined 200 kuai for infractions. That's a lot of money for people in that city and apparently they all - even the taxi drivers - got the message really quickly.

My point is that there is hope for the traffic in this country. It can, and probably will, begin at the local level when local leaders begin to enforce the rules that are already on the books. After an absence of several years, I noticed that the driving patterns on the streets in that city had noticably changed. Would it have prevented what happened to SpV's friend? Maybe not. But maybe so. If the owner of the car knew the consequences, if the driver knew he might end up in jail just for being caught, maybe he wouldn't have got behind the wheel. It doesn't stop all the drunken idiots in our home countries, but it might stop some.

[Mister Barfly]

This is crazy but believable.  Its not surprising that things like this happen.  A few of my Chinese friends that have recently took their driving test have told me that on top of their 4000rmb fee for lessons and tests, they also have to hand over 4 lots of red packets and expensive smokes to the examiner.  If everyone passes the test no matter how bad they are at driving, then whats the point in them all doing the test anyway. 

I have recently bought a car and I drive like I would drive in the UK, in the city its fine but on the motorway its madness.

Sorry to hear about you and your friends and I hope that you will all make a full recovery.