The Olympic Games 2008 will be held in Beijing, China. I am an American and a Beijing resident. I have prepared a little primer to acclimate visitors to the traffic situation in Beijing.

Drivers in China and especially in Beijing drive aggressively. Cutting off other vehicles is common. There is not much courtesy on the roads. Drivers in China seem to be at ease with this kind of driving. They seem to expect it from others and most engage in this type of aggressive driving.

Beijing drivers tend to pay scant attention to green crosswalk signs. You should not presume you can cross the road just because you have a pedestrian crosswalk green light. Most drivers expect pedestrians to get out of their way, even when the pedestrians have the legal right-of-way. The safest way to cross a road is by pedestrian flyover (overhead) bridge, but if there are none around and you have to cross a road, you should wait until a group of other pedestrians are crossing the road and stay in the middle of the group and you will be fairly safe. You will not be safe at all if you merely rely on the legal right-of-way as indicated by the pedestrian crosswalk green light.

Horns are used extensively. Drivers honk their horns when entering an intersection to alert other drivers, especially if the intersection is not regulated. Running red lights is common too, and when a driver runs a red light he often blows his horn to warn other drivers that he is not stopping for the red light. Drivers all over China seem to be a bit “horn happy.” They commonly use their horns to try to get other vehicles to move out of their way. Even when the car or cars in front of them are blocked in and cannot move, the drivers still honk their horns excessively. Fortunately this does not seem to incite road rage in China.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Don’t get any fancy ideas that your traffic courtesy will catch on in China. You are not going the change the habits of a nation by trying to set a good example. In fact, you will cause more trouble and be more likely to get into an accident by trying to use American style traffic courtesy in China.

It took me a while to get used to the way things are over here. But now I am getting into the swing of things more and more. For example, traffic is chaotic but there is some order in the chaos.

Let me explain. At first I was riding my bicycle dangerously because I was being cautious and considerate of other bicycle riders, pedestrians, and motor vehicle traffic. But then I began to notice that when I rode using common road courtesy (not extremely aggressively as is the standard way here) that other people did not know how to react and in fact I was creating a dangerous condition by being polite and considerate because it caught others off-guard. Nobody would expect you to let the other guy go first. Nobody would expect you to give anybody a break of any kind. If anyone does drive or ride showing common courtesy to others, you will almost certainly cause an accident because nobody will be expecting it and their actions will anticipate you not showing any courtesy. For example, if you stop for a pedestrian in the crosswalk, you will be rear-ended because nobody would expect you to stop for a pedestrian. Pedestrians can jump out of the way when you honk your horn. It is far safer to ride and drive like everybody else.

The key points are worth reiteration:

Never show any consideration for any other person, whether on foot, bicycle, or motor vehicle. Never give the other guy a break. At any and every opportunity you should root your vehicle nose in and cut the others off and never feel even slightly bad about cutting anyone off, or causing them to slam on their brakes to avoid hitting you. Ride, walk, drive aggressively at all times. Everybody else reacts as if they know you will also drive, ride, or walk like the average person does in China. Any deviation from completely selfish driving, walking, or riding is likely to cause an accident because others will misinterpret your intent. Now that I have started riding my bicycle Chinese style, I get places much quicker and it is far safer too.

The only laws that are consistently adhered to on the roads in China are the immutable laws of physics. A vehicle moving at a uniform rate in a straight line will remain in that state until some force is applied. Newton’s third law is the law that seems to rule the road in China. Newton’s third law as applied to the rules of the road, means that the bigger and heavier vehicle has the right-of-way. If you are on foot and someone on a bicycle is headed straight at you, the combination of the bicycle and rider’s weight plus the vehicle’s speed = you had better jump out of the way. Conversely if you are riding a bicycle and you think you have the right-of-way because you have a green traffic signal, but a faster and heavier vehicle challenges your right-of-way, then you should yield.

You should not think you will hit the lawsuit lotto jackpot in China if you are hit by a vehicle. If you are very lucky, your medical bills may be paid by the person who is found to be at fault, but do not expect any monetary award above the actual medical bills and/or repair bills. Medical costs are pretty cheap in China. If you are seriously injured you may be awarded $50 or so in damages, depending on actual amount of the ambulance and hospital bills. There is no such thing as compensation for pain and suffering.

There have been some recent policy changes and incentives to motivate more people to use the public transportation system in Beijing, but these actions have not remedied the traffic jams.

The fastest and smoothest way to get around is by electric powered bicycle. Almost every road in and around Beijing has bike paths (bicycle lanes).

Legal Rules of the Road for riding bicycles in China

1. Pedestrians have the right-of-way over all vehicular traffic when the pedestrians are in a designated pedestrian pathway or within a crosswalk with the green light to cross the road. Most roads have sidewalks on both sides that are off-limits to bicycles and are for the exclusive use of pedestrians.

2. Bicycle lanes are clearly marked and well defined. Only pedal powered and electric bicycles are permitted in the bike lanes. Mopeds and all other vehicles with internal combustion engines are not permitted on bike paths.

3. Cars may cross the bike paths when exiting or entering the roadway, but are forbidden to travel in the bike lanes.

4. Motorcycles may use to the same roadways as cars and other motor vehicles. Motorcycles are forbidden from using the bicycle lanes.

Reality of the Road in China, and especially Beijing

1. Pedestrians have plenty of room to walk on the sidewalks but many seem to prefer to walk on the bike paths, and often two or three abreast which usually impedes bicycle traffic. About 20% of the people seem to be walking on the bike paths while about 80% seem to obey the law. The 20% who do walk on the bike paths manage to slow down bicycle traffic considerably.

2. When there is a traffic jam, which is pretty much 24-7, occasionally some bold automobile drivers run on the bike paths for long distances. Police often will stop cars and ticket the driver if they see this transgression. It is a different story with motorcycles and motor scooters. All motorized vehicles with the exception of clearly marked vehicles for the disabled, are prohibited from running in the bicycle lanes. But more often than not motorcyclists and scooter riders will run on the highway when traffic is faster there, but frequently jump over to the bike paths when traffic on the highway is slower than the traffic on the bike path. Motorcycle riders also seem to run most traffic lights with impunity.

These motorized vehicle riders throw their heads back and act like they are king of the road on the bike paths. They continuously honk their horns and act like they own the bike paths. Their attitudes seem to be: “How dare you mere bicycles get in my way! I am a rich man who can afford a motorcycle and you poor peasants on cheap little bicycles are in my way! You had better scatter like chickens when the king of the road comes barreling down this motorcycle lane.” Police rarely enforce the laws prohibiting motorcycles and motor scooters from using the bike lanes.

Bicycle lanes are almost always one-way. If bicyclists want to go in the opposite direction, they should cross the street and get on the bike path going in the direction desired. In practice most people do go the right way on one way bike paths. However, about 1% of all cyclists ride against the flow of traffic, going in the opposite direction from the other 99%. There are so many bicycles in China that the 1% or so of riders who ride the wrong way on one-way bike paths equals a lot of bicycles. The bottom line is that you are unlikely to make it even one city block without meeting a cyclist who is going in the wrong direction.

My first bicycle in China had a high-tech lightweight aluminum alloy frame, with an intelligent assist electric motor, and a six speed transmission, disc brakes, and a lightweight lithium battery. It was the best and lightest state-of-the-art electric bicycle available in Beijing at that time. After two collisions with other cyclists who were going in the wrong direction on one-way bike paths, I traded my fancy bicycle in for a different kind of bicycle. I traded for size and power. I got the electric bicycle that was the biggest, strongest, heaviest, and had the most powerful motor. My new bicycle is built like an M1A1 Abrams battle tank. Now I just blast my horn and gun it when I see someone going in the wrong direction and headed straight for me. They will get out of the way.

Having said all that, electric bicycling is still the fastest legal way to get around in Beijing. If you come for the Olympic Games or for any reason, I welcome you to Beijing.