The streets run wild

Ok, so I get it…there are a lot of people out there. I mean a LOT of people. This becomes most apparent around times like this (a.k.a. “holiday season”) in the city when people simply can’t stay in and they have to go from one place to another. Sure something like this happens every day during rush hour, but that’s only a small piece of the proverbial cake when dealing with the crowds that pack the streets and byways.

But really, what can you do about it? It’s natural that everyone has to get somewhere else at some point in time. After all, if you’ve ever experienced the rush yourself you’re just as guilty to contributing to it as everyone else. Still, there are smart ways to go about it and there are…shall we say…not so smart ways.

For starters, don’t just expect everyone to know what you want to do when you’re walking the street. Seems pretty obvious, right? Unfortunately that’s not always the case as I’ve seen people hit by cars, motorcycles, scooters, and even bicycles because they wander out obliviously to what’s going on around them and think everything will be OK. Remember, a one-way street out there does not mean ALL vehicles going down that road go the same way, just most of them, so look out both ways before going about. Also, pedestrians do not have the right of way (at least in a practical sense, though legally they do). If you ever want to test that out just remember: if you’re injured by a driver the driver has to pay for all of your medical bills in the hospital which could potentially amount to millions of RMB, whereas if you’re simply killed in the process the cap on the penalty they have to pay is only around 400k RMB, so it’s in their best interests to finish what they start if it comes down that that.

Also remember the golden rule of light management:

Green = go

Red = go

Yellow = GO FAST!

Don’t fall into the habit of thinking that all traffic rules apply to all situations, and especially don’t rely upon that notion that “a red light means you have to stop before turning first if you’re driving.”

At the same time jaywalking is, technically, illegal, so don’t think any mistakes on a driver’s part can excuse you for your own actions. One person appearing to break the rules doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone to, and rules really are there for a reason.

The best advice of all is to simply remember what we were all taught growing up: before going on the street look both ways, check all traffic, and if need be pull the headphones off your ears so you can actually hear what’s going on out there. Shanghai may be one of the safest cities out there when it comes to most crime, but you have to protect yourself every now and then when it comes to traffic laws.

Last pearls of wisdom: avoid the highways if at all possible around rush hours (6:00-9:00 and 17:00-20:00), go for the subway lines if you really need to go quickly from one place to another, don’t underestimate the usefulness of buses, and of course…

Take a break sometime while you’re out there. You may need it.