Massive vehicle pile-up in China leaves 17 people dead, 37 injured......
A total of 56 vehicles were involved in the accident on a major expressway in Shanxi province on Monday (local time) under cold, slick conditions, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
Most of the vehicles involved in the accident were large trucks and the cause of the accident was being investigated.
About 200,000 people die on Chinese roads each year,
Highway accidents are common because of high speeds, aggressive driving and a failure to leave adequate braking distance.
In a bid to improve road safety, the government recently cracked down on the overloading of trucks.
"Gee a Govt with a good idea"
K.J.
-- Edited by kiwijims on Tuesday 22nd of November 2016 06:47:02 PM
-- Edited by kiwijims on Tuesday 22nd of November 2016 06:58:46 PM
__________________
From Coast to Coast, We'll see it all.......One Day
When I asked our tour bus driver why he did not stop at red lights he replied ' If you did that you'd never get anywhere'.
Scooters loaded with several members of the family & assorted loads just weaved in & out of the traffic ... & usually without lights at night.
On country unpaved roads undergoing upgrades, it was quite common to see several lanes of traffic all going in opposite directions spread across the road & coolies on both sides of the road with poles across their shoulders carrying heavy loads. Often there would be large mounds of soil in the middle of the road with no warning signs or traffic control people. Traffic would just weave around them & reform into new traffic lanes where ever it seemed convenient.
When our nice looking bus hit corrugations it would just make horrific suspension noises and crab across the road until it struck a smooth section. The driver was working hard, constantly turning the wheel from side to side trying to go in a reasonably straight line.
A great number of commercial trucks seemed to be home made from stationary engines with 44gal drum cooling systems using open belt drives. The drivers were often seated on plastic garden chairs beside the 44 gal drum.
seen similar in the UK caused by driving into fog bank on a sunny day an the fog was that dense you couldn't see the ground you where standing on. 300 plus vehicles involved the fog disappeared almost as quick as it appeared an just left the carnage behind
Is there such thing, as a Drivers licence in China, ??? or is that a stupid question
There can't be many road rules there,
K.J.
According to our tour guide, they have a very similar drivers licencing system to ours but perhaps even more onerous. They have rules tests, driving skills tests & logged, supervised driving hours just like us. But all the supervised driving hours must be with a registered driving Instructor. At least that was what the Beijing guide said. Can't remember if they had restricted P plates though.
It seems that once they get the licence they then ignore the rules.
Not sure what they do in other regions though, or if it a National system.
It's a great place for regulations but the population seem extremely adept at getting around those regulations.
Oh yes, as I write I recall that no licence or rego is required for motor scooters (step thru ones) as they are the transport of the poor, replacing the ubiquitous bicycle which are becoming relatively rare. At least we didn't see very many in general use as we had expected. Though I did see one lady who had her whole fold out, pop up, clothing/jewellery/gift street store on one. She'd roll up on the roadside near our hotel at first light & would be still there when we went to bed.
I think that motor bikes require rego & licence so they were pretty rare. I think that car ownership is very restricted also.
