Car Horns

They should replace car horns with the brown note so that you'll know to get out of the way when you feel a spasm in your bowels and the warm trickle of diarrhea running down your pants.

There was a trend a couple of years back of extremely loud fake sirens so the driver sounded like a police car, those seem to have gone at least.

It's a total mystery how some of these people in their 30s and 40s are still alive despite not understanding the need to look before you cross a busy road or bike lane

Anybody know someone who works in the hospitals and sees the results first-hand? I'd be very curious to know the mortality/maiming rates here compared to other countries.  

Good thing China has no handicapped people or they'd be in big trouble.

Good thing China has no handicapped people or they'd be in big trouble.

I take it you're being facetious?

Good thing China has no handicapped people or they'd be in big trouble.

My observations at the Casino and around the City are that a lot of these folk are in Australia.

I think in China a lot of what you can't see, like corruption or organization in the business and government world or family relations, is firmly on display in cars. The relationship dynamics and available personal stances are right there--grab power, push others aside, organise by excluding, trumpet, break, fall over and shout. It'd be bizarre if the way people construct road etiquette somehow managed to be unrelated to basic notions of persons and rights and what opportunity means. If cars don't show us how people related, they do show us how systems are built.

/stretch

Quote from: kitano on March 22, 2013, 12:11:46 AM

It's a total mystery how some of these people in their 30s and 40s are still alive despite not understanding the need to look before you cross a busy road or bike lane

Anybody know someone who works in the hospitals and sees the results first-hand? I'd be very curious to know the mortality/maiming rates here compared to other countries. 

It was several years ago, but I read in Xinhua that the leading cause of death in China was lung cancer, followed by vehicular accidents.

I had an air horn for my bicycle until an older chinese man broke it because he needed to demonstrate how impressed he was and it's better to grab a plastic mounting bracket than the handlebar grips, don't you know. Anyway, the horn was awesome! Even cars paid attention to me. It was the greatest guilty pleasure of all time. All time!

I think in China a lot of what you can't see, like corruption or organization in the business and government world or family relations, is firmly on display in cars. The relationship dynamics and available personal stances are right there--grab power, push others aside, organise by excluding, trumpet, break, fall over and shout. It'd be bizarre if the way people construct road etiquette somehow managed to be unrelated to basic notions of persons and rights and what opportunity means. If cars don't show us how people related, they do show us how systems are built.

/stretch

Agreed. It shows how they prioritize position above rules or right and wrong, which they learn from their hierarchical system. If my vehicle is more powerful and my position is superior, then eff-you, buddy. Fairness, efficiency, safety, right of way, etc. are not in the matrix of contingencies. However, they do respond to traffic fines and vehicular confiscation, which is just a stick, sort of artificial, and not a real understanding of why it makes sense to do X instead of Y.

Kind of off topic but anyone notice how some cars (usually big expensive suv) with the special number plates can ignore traffic lights if they feel like it. I have seen this on a number of occasions when cars stop at a red light and they just carry on like it was not there. Granted that usually the traffic was quite light but still.

I think in China a lot of what you can't see, like corruption or organization in the business and government world or family relations, is firmly on display in cars. The relationship dynamics and available personal stances are right there--grab power, push others aside, organise by excluding, trumpet, break, fall over and shout. It'd be bizarre if the way people construct road etiquette somehow managed to be unrelated to basic notions of persons and rights and what opportunity means. If cars don't show us how people related, they do show us how systems are built.

/stretch

I just think it's due to the fact that there are 20 more cars than there were 10 years ago.

But there's 20 more of everything. The roads show us how it all works.

By far the most stupidly awesome thing about teaching students to drive here is they don't chase out the stray dogs. The dogs collect in the big open area where they train the drivers because it's secluded, bounded by a wall, the lake, and a small tree-filled hill, and presumably just because no one does chase them out. So right now I'm witnessing drivers driving slowly in circles, dogs chasing fucking cars and barking at each other, and then drivers honking at dogs.

Love this country

I can just see the dogs sitting around under a big ol' elm tree, drinking tea, smoking and playing Chinese chess. They have a sign under their necks saying:


WILL ALLOW YOU TO HONK AT ME FOR FOOD

I'd quite like to see a video of this.

Horns continue honking.

I believe it has worsened. People always did honk in the past, but some new, more widespread culture of preemptive honking has evolved.

Partly, I insist, it's because Chinese don't know how to drive--where an actual driver uses caution, they use horns.

But more, there's a diabolical insistence on urban designs that forces cars and pedestrians into the same space. I'd be willing to bet that all across China if you go to any university, and probably any campus style environment for any kind of factory or institution, you'll find a system of gates and guards that make cars and people use literally the same entry way.

And they want China to develop a consumer culture? WHEN THEY BUY ALL THE THINGS, WHERE ARE THEY GOING TO PUT THEM?!