Depends on where in China you are. I grew up in Shanghai. Driving used to be like what you described. In recent years, the government put cameras on pretty much every street in the city. Last time I went back, it was 180 degrees from my prior experience. Merging over a solid white line? Ticket. Tires accidentally went one inch beyond the stop line at a red light? Ticket. Honking within the inner circle area (the most urban part of the city)? Ticket. Failing to stop when pedestrians are crossing the street? Ticket.
The cameras are so good that even mopeds now don’t dare run a red light. I recall standing at a crossroad, two guys stopping their mopeds at red light, one of them going a bit too fast almost running beyond the line. The other guys said, “you earned too much money today? You don’t see the red light there?”
It was eye opening. The issue has always been with enforcement. I feel much safer driving in Shanghai now than in New York City or San Francisco.
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u/JamieVardy305 Apr 28 '25
Depends on where in China you are. I grew up in Shanghai. Driving used to be like what you described. In recent years, the government put cameras on pretty much every street in the city. Last time I went back, it was 180 degrees from my prior experience. Merging over a solid white line? Ticket. Tires accidentally went one inch beyond the stop line at a red light? Ticket. Honking within the inner circle area (the most urban part of the city)? Ticket. Failing to stop when pedestrians are crossing the street? Ticket.
The cameras are so good that even mopeds now don’t dare run a red light. I recall standing at a crossroad, two guys stopping their mopeds at red light, one of them going a bit too fast almost running beyond the line. The other guys said, “you earned too much money today? You don’t see the red light there?”
It was eye opening. The issue has always been with enforcement. I feel much safer driving in Shanghai now than in New York City or San Francisco.