via - http://www.alivenotdead.com/kellyhu/blog.html

growing up in countries where road rules are enforced really softens you up =D

Kuwait is even scarier cause the whole country is like one big freeway.

Most of the world it seems really just can't drive for crap.

mezbup Wrote:Most of the world it seems really just can't drive for crap.

What's the point of this video? Show a montage of traffic accidents at any intersection in any country or town in the world and it would be exactly the same. I don't see how this supports the claim that "most of the world...can't drive for crap." Traffic accidents happen. That's why we have a term for them.

Jimmy: It's not unfair to say that drivers in some countries are worse than others. It isn't genetic, it is due to different levels of traffic enforcement and different road conditions.

The lack of enforcement here is exactly why Japanese people will virtually never stop at a crosswalk when someone is waiting to cross while people in Canada will slam on the brakes immediately. Cops in Canada patrol, waiting to pounce on the slightest infraction so they can issue a ticket, while cops in Japan only seem to patrol highways for speeders and leave local streets totally unenforced. The result is horrible, dangerous driving. Japan has a higher than average rate of accidents and a higher than average fatality rate in those accidents. Police need to be in patrol cars, not in koban. Better enforcement = better driving + more income for the local govts which are bankrupt in many areas + more safety

I've never been to China so I can't comment on their traffic issues. AFAIK they also use a koban system though.

Jarvik7 Wrote:Jimmy: It's not unfair to say that drivers in some countries are worse than others. It isn't genetic, it is due to different levels of traffic enforcement and different road conditions.

Yeah, I won't deny that, and I have seen some horrible driving here in Japan, my favorite example being someone who came to a full stop and then drove through a RR crossing as the lights were flashing and the barricade was coming down. That just shows a blind obedience and complete lack of understanding for traffic regulations.

I just think mezbup's example was a poor one.

I spent three weeks in China and the driving was a NIGHTMARE. A tour bus full of 50 kids? Taking on a Garbage truck? Headfirst? LET'S DO IT! >D -scream-

Ugh. I get nightmares. (It might be different, since we were there as guests for the Olympics in 2008).

We were warned several times to check, double-check, and triple-check before going across streets. Also, to do it in groups, since cars rarely stopped and often ran people over (this was mostly in Shanghai, since we were in a hotel complex out of Beijing).

Short story: Yeah. Their driving is not enforced whatsoever. They pretty much do whatever they want. Oh, and there's often chubby middle-aged men biking/walking around with their shirts up to their nipples.

So yes. Driving the wrong way on the freeway is really common.

OH! I did see police one time. Our 55 tour buses got a police escort to...the Great Wall, I think? It might've been Tianjin for the soccer game, but there had been a bomb threat or something so we were being protected.

Anyone here been on a moped in Ho Chi Minh City, or anywhere in SE Asia? Now that is suicidal, world's worst drivers.

Jarvik7 Wrote:Police need to be in patrol cars, not in koban. Better enforcement = better driving + more income for the local govts which are bankrupt in many areas + more safety

couldn't disagree more. Japan has a very low crime rate compared to other countries, which means police are doing something right. That is because they're not speeding along in high speed pursuits which cause more fatal crashes than they prevent.

vinniram Wrote:

Jarvik7 Wrote:Police need to be in patrol cars, not in koban. Better enforcement = better driving + more income for the local govts which are bankrupt in many areas + more safety

couldn't disagree more. Japan has a very low crime rate compared to other countries, which means police are doing something right. That is because they're not speeding along in high speed pursuits which cause more fatal crashes than they prevent.

I would say that is due to the absence of guns, a low poverty rate, a sense of group responsibility, etc. Japanese police are pretty well recognized as incompetent. Unless the person turns themselves in (very common) or the criminal is exceedingly dumb (also common), crimes rarely seem to get solved. Yakuza also play a role in keeping other criminals in check.

Even if jp police were awesome at keeping Japan safe, how does twiddling their thumbs in a koban achieve it? Pretty much all they do is lost and found and give directions. Also, pulling people over for running through a stop sign/red light != highspeed chase. Some areas in the west have a no highspeed chase policy actually..

Jarvik7 Wrote:The lack of enforcement here is exactly why Japanese people will virtually never stop at a crosswalk

I don't know what a crosswalk is, but in England cars usually stop at zebra crossings (where pedestrians have right of way) if they see someone they think wants to cross. As far as I'm aware there is no punishment for keeping going (assuming they haven't stepped on to the road yet), so I think there is alot more to it than just enforcement.

Splatted Wrote:I don't know what a crosswalk is, but in England cars usually stop at zebra crossings

Same thing, different words. So far as I know, outside of the countries of the Queen's English (England, Australia, NZ) they're called crosswalks or just pedestrian crossings.

The implication was that cars do not stop even when people are trying to cross, or even sometimes if people are already crossing.

Basically the only way to cross is to wait (a long time) until there is an opening, or just start crossing when the next car has enough room to brake and keep an eye on them incase they decide not to and you need to run (they will swerve into the oncoming lane and keep going instead sometimes though). If traffic is backed up at a stoplight cars will also stop on top of the crossing, making it difficult to pass even though there is no moving traffic.

Essentially, crosswalks (zebra crossings to you) have absolutely no meaning in Japan since there is no difference from jay walking.

Jarvik7 Wrote:The implication was that cars do not stop even when people are trying to cross, or even sometimes if people are already crossing.

Basically the only way to cross is to wait (a long time) until there is an opening, or just start crossing when the next car has enough room to brake and keep an eye on them incase they decide not to and you need to run (they will swerve into the oncoming lane and keep going instead sometimes though). If traffic is backed up at a stoplight cars will also stop on top of the crossing, making it difficult to pass even though there is no moving traffic.

Essentially, crosswalks (zebra crossings to you) have absolutely no meaning in Japan since there is no difference from jay walking.

This is true in China, too. We were warned multiple times that cars hate stopping, so go in large groups so they might potentially actually stop and not run everyone over.

lol, ok but my point still stands; Drivers in (some parts) of England go beyond what they are forced to do in order to accommodate other people on the road. No matter how bad the police are in China/Japan etc, there is presumably still quite a risk of being punished if they actually do run someone over, so if they're not stopping it's probably more of a social/cultural thing.

I sometimes wonder if the poor traffic regulation in places like china actually creates a higher state of alertness that might prevent traffic accidents.