Dalian update: the traffic battle

It is in traffic that the Chinese people show their most social and patient side. Everyone seems to own the road and you better get out of the way quickly. The basic rule to remember: big fish eat small fish. No doubt: King Car has conquered the Land of the Bicycle.

There is no point in denying it is rather dangerous to go cycling here. Each traffic participant seems confident they will not get hit or run over by another, illustrated by the fact that many pedestrians just walk onto the road without ever looking left or right. Car drivers - especially taxi drivers - exhibit the same habit. At night, several drivers "forget" to switch on headlights. Still, I have not seen any accident happening yet. Only several near-misses. Yesterday I was almost a stellar witness to a taxi being squashed between the elevated sidewalk of the main road (Zhongshan Lu) and a public bus. You can imagine that it is quite "exciting" to ride your bike between all of this, especially if you recall the abovementioned basic traffic rule. As a cyclist you do feel rather weak, and you know at least 50% of car drivers will never brake or stop for you. One good thing at least: car drivers here in Dalian keep the speed low.

Of course, I am mainly talking about the Dalian city centre now. Once across the hills most roads are basically deserted for European standards. It is truly great cycling territory over there with big wide roads in good condition. I am fortunate my flat is just outside the city centre, so I am out on more quiet roads already after five minutes of pedalling.

But instead of cracking down on internet usage, the authorities could really spend some more time on enforcing basic traffic rules. Everyone will benefit.