Food for thought

[cfsmtb[_265_]]

Traffic patterns in China -- be smart rent a bicycle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf07REvt4rI

Funny thing is, I was thinking the absolute opposite to the commenters
on this vid, as it looks like the bicycle riders & the traffic have
worked out something that's clearly missing out of the equation here in
Aus & other places where cars are king of the roads. Intuitive road
sharing? Just getting on with it? Or are these road users simply used
to others without having to be so twitchy? Although at approx 300
fatalities per day, China's road stats are off the scale in comparison
to here, but that's probably due to far more complex reasons, such as
the rapid rise in motorisation on Chinese roads in the last two
decades.

PS. Check out the mad beer delivery skillz:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaox4xFwkbo


--
cfsmtb

[petulance]

On Jun 19, 12:59 pm, cfsmtb <cfsmtb.2se...@no-
mx.forums.cyclingforums.com> wrote:
>
> Funny thing is, I was thinking the absolute opposite to the commenters
> on this vid, as it looks like the bicycle riders & the traffic have
> worked out something that's clearly missing out of the equation here in
> Aus & other places where cars are king of the roads. Intuitive road
> sharing? Just getting on with it? Or are these road users simply used
> to others without having to be so twitchy?

<snip>

I have never been to China before here are my 2 cents based on
experiences in Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur.

Traffic is Hanoi is fairly chaotic with a mix of mopeds, bicycles and
cars. I have witnessed minor collisions between mopeds. The funny
thing is, there doesn't seem to be an element of road rage there. Two
mopeds collide at low speed, the riders fall off, they get back up and
ride away. No aggro or shouting.

I was told the trick to crossing a road in Hanoi is to keep walking.
The thousands of mopeds coming your way will work their way around you
(and not tell you where to go!). Stopping in the middle of the road
only confuses the riders.

Kuala Lumpur, on the other hand, is a nightmare. Terrible drivers and
road rage incidents. People don't keep to their lanes and don't use
their indicator lights enough.


Having said that, I think the key attitudes of Asian motorists can be
summed up as

- be alert because you don't know what the driver in front of you will
do
- the driver in front of you is an idiot
- you are responsible for your own actions and you can't sue/blame a
3rd party if you do something silly

[Graeme Dods]

On Jun 19, 11:13 am, petulance > wrote:
> Having said that, I think the key attitudes of Asian motorists can be
> summed up as
>
> - be alert because you don't know what the driver in front of you will
> do
> - the driver in front of you is an idiot
> - you are responsible for your own actions and you can't sue/blame a
> 3rd party if you do something silly

I would have said that's pretty much how you should approach driving
everywhere, though perhaps with varying importance on the first point.

I was very impressed with how the traffic flowed (when it did) in
Hangzhou earlier this year. A mixture of everything moving fairly
freely without mishap (that I saw). I took a similar attitude to
crossing the road as the locals but I kind of freaked out my
colleagues as they cowered on the pavement shrieking "Look out!" Tsk,
no sense of adventure :-)

Graeme

[cfsmtb[_267_]]

Graeme Dods Wrote:
>
> I was very impressed with how the traffic flowed (when it did) in
> Hangzhou earlier this year. A mixture of everything moving fairly
> freely without mishap (that I saw). I took a similar attitude to
> crossing the road as the locals but I kind of freaked out my
> colleagues as they cowered on the pavement shrieking "Look out!" Tsk,
> no sense of adventure :-)

Is that the nonchalantly-walk-across tactic where the traffic flow just
moves across you like water over a pebble? ;)


--
cfsmtb

[AndrewJ]

On Jun 20, 12:25 pm, cfsmtb <cfsmtb.2sg...@no-
mx.forums.cyclingforums.com> wrote:
> Graeme Dods Wrote:
>
>
>
> > I was very impressed with how the traffic flowed (when it did) in
> > Hangzhou earlier this year. A mixture of everything moving fairly
> > freely without mishap (that I saw). I took a similar attitude to
> > crossing the road as the locals but I kind of freaked out my
> > colleagues as they cowered on the pavement shrieking "Look out!" Tsk,
> > no sense of adventure :-)
>
> Is that the nonchalantly-walk-across tactic where the traffic flow just
> moves across you like water over a pebble? ;)
>
> --
> cfsmtb


Yes, it's hard to do it at first, but you get used to it.

What I liked about Vietnamese traffic was the complete absence of
aggro. Lots of tooting,
but no aggro that I saw.

Having said that, I wasn't game to ride a bicycle even in the village
traffic. Next time :-)

[K.A. Moylan]

In article >,
cfsmtb > wrote:

> Graeme Dods Wrote:
> >
> > I was very impressed with how the traffic flowed (when it did) in
> > Hangzhou earlier this year. A mixture of everything moving fairly
> > freely without mishap (that I saw). I took a similar attitude to
> > crossing the road as the locals but I kind of freaked out my
> > colleagues as they cowered on the pavement shrieking "Look out!" Tsk,
> > no sense of adventure :-)
>
> Is that the nonchalantly-walk-across tactic where the traffic flow just
> moves across you like water over a pebble? ;)

Was that 'traffic flow just moves *across* you' or 'traffic flow just
moves *around* you'?
Would make a big difference to me.

--
K.A. Moylan
Canberra, Australia
Ski Club: http://www.cccsc.asn.au
kamoylan at ozemail dot com dot au

[Graeme Dods]

On Jun 20, 10:25 am, cfsmtb <cfsmtb.2sg...@no-
mx.forums.cyclingforums.com> wrote:

> Is that the nonchalantly-walk-across tactic where the traffic flow just
> moves across you like water over a pebble? ;)

As I've not had my annual bath since I returned and I can't find any
tyre marks remaining on my body then they must have gone round me :)

Apparently one of the big incentives not to have any accident was the
amount of paperwork you have to fill in would kill you!

Graeme

[Theo Bekkers]

AndrewJ wrote:

> What I liked about Vietnamese traffic was the complete absence of
> aggro. Lots of tooting,
> but no aggro that I saw.

I've never been to Vietnam. The Gov't were thinking about sending me there
once but they changed their mind. :-)

In Indonesia and Singapore, and even in most parts of Europe, tooting means
"Hi, I'm here", in Australia and in America it means "Get the **** outta my
way. I own this road".

Theo

[Darryl C]

In article . com>,
AndrewJ > wrote:

> Yes, it's hard to do it at first, but you get used to it.
>
> What I liked about Vietnamese traffic was the complete absence of
> aggro. Lots of tooting,
> but no aggro that I saw.
>
> Having said that, I wasn't game to ride a bicycle even in the village
> traffic. Next time :-)

I cycled and motor-cycled everywhere throughout Vietnam. I liked the way
that police on traffic duty would stop any motorcyclist doing the wrong
thing and make them wait for a period of time, which seemed totally
arbitrary. Because everyone is in a hurry this seemed to be an effective
deterrent.

cheers,
Darryl

[cfsmtb[_275_]]

Graeme Dods Wrote:
>
> As I've not had my annual bath since I returned and I can't find any
> tyre marks remaining on my body then they must have gone round me :)
>

Is that due to your goodself being either a water-conscious enviro type
or a P*m?



*ducks*


--
cfsmtb

[Graeme Dods]

On Jun 21, 1:27 pm, cfsmtb <cfsmtb.2si...@no-
mx.forums.cyclingforums.com> wrote:
> Is that due to your goodself being either a water-conscious enviro type
> or a P*m?

Not totally keen on baths to be honest, particularly not the scooty
wee ones that I've seen since moving here. When we get the main
bathroom renovated (it really needs it as it is pretty tatty) we might
splash out on a reasonable sized one in conjunction with a grey water
system. As for being an unwashed P*m, I'm very much a shower loving
one and jump in the shower at least once a month whether I need to or
not. I've even been known to turn it on occasionally....

> *ducks*

Yes please, with some pancakes and hoisin sauce please.

:)

Graeme