Traffic Rules

One of the (many) strange things here in Shanghai is that nearly all the crossroads have traffic lights on them, and nearly all traffic lights also need a Traffic Policeman in charge of them to keep control. I did wonder if traffic lights are a relatively new introduction, and the policemen have been put there to break everyone in gently, just in case there are people who aren’t quite sure what to do about them. They do have that strange rule (strange for people who are only used to driving in England anyway – I think it’s common to a number of countries) that you only have to take any notice of a red light if you are either going straight on or turning left – if you’re turning right, ignore it - so it isn’t terribly straightforward to start with. It may also be that everywhere is just so busy and everyone is just in such a hurry that if everyone sat round taking notice of red lights, regardless of what direction they were going in, nobody would ever get anywhere. Whatever the reason anyway, traffic routinely ignores red lights, and there are lots of Traffic Policemen with whistles and flags trying their best to stop them doing it. What a job. If they don’t get run over, I’m sure their life expectancy must be halved due to the horrendous fumes they must be breathing in.

The poor Traffic Policemen not only have to monitor between 8 and 12 lanes of traffic, plus at least 4 cycle lanes (and remember that cycle lanes here are exactly that – they are typically not far off the same width as a car lane, and are usually packed solid with bikes and scooters in just as much a hurry as everyone else), but they also have to monitor the pedestrians as well. The pedestrians here don’t have time to hang around waiting for green men to show, they just take their lives in their hands and go for it. But again, the Traffic Policemen appear to be trying to put an end to all that. Watching the resulting fiasco always reminds me of a bizarre game of What Time Is It Mr. Wolf. The pedestrians (and there are usually at least 50 people waiting to cross any given intersection at any given time) pile up at the kerb, muttering crossly at being forced to wait. One or two may try to break free of the pack and run across the road, but the policeman will notice and blow his whistle crossly, forcing them to turn back like naughty children. But the minute his back is turned while he deals with the chaos in a different direction, the pedestrians begin to make a dash for it. The policeman turns round suddenly, catching them all half way across the road. He blows his whistle furiously and some, taking safety in numbers, daringly ignore him and keep right on going, while the last few stragglers at the back, their moment of indecision about whether to obey the law or not having cost them dearly, freeze momentarily, caught in the act, before guiltily returning to the kerb. I tried to imagine a Shanghai when everyone is completely trained – taxi drivers sit politely at red lights, and pedestrians queue patiently at crossings waiting for the safe to cross signal, and the traffic policemen are no longer required. But I decided it’s about as likely as people in England deliberately driving the wrong way round a roundabout just because it’s a bit quicker.