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A Deadly Weapon…
Written by Robert Vance on March 9, 2008 – 4:32 amI think it’s great that so many people have cars in China. Really. The money is flowing and people can afford them. But seriously, people need to learn how to drive. Almost being run over has become a daily occurrence for me as I walk to work. Sometimes, I would rather take a bus (which is out of the way) then cross an intersection and risk life and limb. This problem, of course is not unique to my city but I have noticed something different here. Cars don’t slow down. In other places where I have lived, cars will at least slow down at the last minute because they really don’t want to hit you and face the consequences. Here, it doesn’t seem like anyone cares whether they hit you or not.
So basically, I and my fellow human beings look like nothing more than bumps on the road to these crazy Chinese drivers. If I could fly to work everyday or live at work I suppose that would solve the problem, right? But you can’t just stay inside. Basically, everytime you walk around, you gotta say your prayers and “follow the crowd.” That’s China!
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My wife was recently hit by a car while crossing the road in our city. She was walking behing me as I was holding the baby and it seemed like the driver didn’t even notice her (she is Chinese and I am from the U.S.). Perhaps the driver was too busy looking at the foreigner holding a baby to notice the small Chinese lady in front of his car. After striking her and knocking her down he slammed on his brakes managing to skid to a halt with his front tire on top of her foot. Her foot was mangled and my wife is now scarred for life in more ways than one.
After months of negotiation with the driver and the police, with the assistance of a police captain friend of mine, the verdict was that the driver was responisible for all damages, hospital bills and payments. The total amount paid was 2, 400 RMB. I was told if he had hit another car, just a fender bender, that he probably would have had to pay uowards to 20,000.
All this just leads me to believe that the Chinese tend to put their cars and/or their money above human life.
We are much more careful about crossing the streets these days.