What makes chinese drivers in the US to drive so bad.?

Question

Almost everybody in the US are familiar with the "Chinese Driver". When somebody veers into your lane etc.. People immediately say "must be a chinese driver". I am not against chinese people, but curious as to what makes them bad drivers.

Answer 1

My ancestry's Chinese but I was born in Canada and absolutely nobody would complain about my driving. BUT, as others have said, driving is a cultural thing and so when immigrants come here their driving style can produce one form of culture clash. I know that a lot of people have trouble with all of the signs - speed limits, no left turns during certain hours, markers on 3-lane-wide roads, no parking at certain hours, crosswalks - all to be read and understood at once. Some of these people come from places where there are really no definitions of lanes and you are expected to simply "go with the flow".

My cousins (from Singapore) - I will be the first to say that they are the WORST drivers in the world. They grew up with servants and chauffeurs and were spoiled to death. So when they finally learned to drive late in life, they never got the knack of understanding how the movement of their car could affect others. I imagine a similar situation might exist for many immigrants from Hong Kong that we see here - they either had a posh upbringing, or didn't drive at all (used their excellent mass transit system to get around).

On a smaller scale it's maybe like the terrorists giving all muslims a bad name; the bad ones are very visible and remembered forever, though few in number.

Answer 2

Bad Chinese Drivers

Answer 3

First of all, it's a stereotype. And I absolutely hate those racists out there who have the idiocy to say that Chinese drivers can't see "because of their eyes". While Asians have smaller eyes, that doesn't mean that their vision is impaired. And saying that Chinese can't drive because they are Communist is a non sequitur. Can someone say that an American is automatically an obese redneck just because he/she believes in democracy? Of course not.

Second of all, you'll see why the Chinese drive as they do when you go to China. In China, the roads are extremely packed, and due to varying degrees of industrial development, there may or may not be traffic lights, signs, or even lines on the road. That means the traffic is chaotic, so Chinese drivers have to drive aggressively and very alertly in order to get anywhere. If you are driving in China, and you wait for the road to be clear before turning into a road, then you'll have long to wait. That's why Chinese drivers often cut into lanes in front of others.

Also, Americans tend to view Chinese drivers as "bad" because they don't follow traffic rules. However, in China, drivers actually have to go through intensive training before they can get a license. It's not just the 50 hrs of driving with a licensed driver that we have to go through here in US. It's going to a community college-sized campus and learning to drive everything from normal cars to cargo trucks. On the roads, Chinese drivers develop very fast reaction speeds, because they learn to drive quickly but avoid others.

And it's actually true that there are very few accidents. The fines and punishments for actually hitting something are also extremely high, so accidents rarely happen.

I'm glad that you actually want to know why, instead of just blindly believing stereotypes! ^____^

Answer 4

I agree that it is a stereotype, although having spent some time in China I think there is some truth in it.

The driving culture and practice in China is much different, from my observations, than here in the US. I'm not sure exactly what the laws are in China, but traffic is not nearly as organized in the cities. There are also a lot of pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists all using the same streets at the same time. Most drivers, and pedestrians, and bicyclists seem to operate with a "don't hit me, and I won't hit you" policy. In other words, they enter and leave traffic with an apparent trust that they won't be struck by another vehicle (motor powered or otherwise). Therefore, it seems to me, that they don't assess all the traffic dangers before making a lane change or turn. They keep an eye on what's in front of them, and trust that whoever is aside or behind them will react accordingly.

Americans are much different, we assess the driving danger more completley and, for the most part, ensure that everything is clear before we make a lane change or turn.

The interesting thing to note about the driving culture in China, at least from my own personal experiences, is the lack of "road rage." Cutting people off, stopping abrubptly, and driving a bit erradically, seem normal over there. It's commonplace, so people don't get angry when it happens. I never once witnessed an episode of road rage in China. Yet here in America, I witness it daily.

The driving culture in China is different from in America, so drivers that learned to drive in China behave differently than those that learned in America.

It's a bit like learning to walk and travel in the countryside, and then moving to a city where things behave differently.

Answer 5

It is the round eye's perception that make it seem so. If any but an Asian cuts you off, you get angry, stick out your finger, whatever, but you don't make any note of he person's ethnicity. But if an Asian does it, you clearly catalog the race and rememer that you did when you think about bad drivers.

Another category facing the same "categorizing" may be women drivers, or older drivers. Pick your own predjeduices.

By the way, to all those who address the shape of the eyelid as the reason, please note that the Japanese pilots of early WWII were know as exceptional fliers with the keenest vision. They were trained to spot navigation stars IN THE DAYLIGHT.

There is no natural selection process that would make poor vision a survival trait. And, there are a lot more Asians than there are of whatever ethnicity you may be.

BTW, I am of Mexican American descent, and have been blind as a bat without my glasses since elementary school.

Answer 6

Chinese drivers, as most asian drivers, learned to drive in a seemingly chaotic vehicular environment. Apparently, the white center line painted on asian streets are used as reference points only and are not intended to delineate traffic separation. Having survived driving in such conditions, any asian making it to the US has developed extraordinary avoidance skills with an auto (similar to you learning to driving bumper cars while you have a back problem). I bet you would find that the Chinese, as well as most asian trained drivers, have a very, very low accident rate. That's not to say they don't cause a lot of others to have accidents while they are executing some spectacular driving manuever to avoid their own. Watch them carefully. You may learn something usefull. Very clever these Chinese.

Answer 7

I somewhat have in no way heard of that nor have I ever theory that - that's a certainty. (that eastern OR chinese language for that remember will not be able to stress) not as quickly as did I hear every person say that and not as quickly as have I ever theory that. that's broadly generalizing As for the superb vehicles - i think of there are superb ones in all makes and worst ones in all makes. I care not - I refuse to possess and stress a vehicle. I take public transportation, bike or walk.

Answer 8

Chinese people may not be the best drivers, but in my experience, their are not many good drivers on the road. They are horrible because everyone seems to think that they have the RIGHT to be first at all times and that their destination is more important them everyone else's!

Answer 9

I agree with the previous statements about a difference in driving culture, but would still like to post an answer. (Hopefully, the objective, informed answers will eventually outnumber the racist-a*s "slanty-eyes" responses on this question...)
I am an American driver living in China right now, and I 've gotta tell you, I have nothing but the utmost respect for Chinese taxi drivers! They're like fighter pilots with all the fancy maneuvers and avoidance techniques. Many taxi's aren't equipped with seat belts, and that really worried me when I first moved here, but now that I've seen the amazing skill of the taxi drivers here, I can relax knowing that I'm safe in their car. They will not hit anything, or allow themsleves to be hit by another vehicle.
You have NO IDEA how many f*cking people, bikes, carts, dogs, donkeys, busses, trucks and other sh#t are on the roads in China, and let me tell you: an American driver (anal-retentive, must-follow-the-rules, stay-within-the-lines, right-of-way-no-speeding, don't-enter-on-yellow, wussy-b*tches) wouldn't last two SECONDS on the roads in China. You gotta have BALLS to drive in this country, man!
It is impossible to follow the traffic rules here, because no-one else does. The one sorry bastard who tries to follow the rules, or stay in the lane, or stop on yellow, (whatever) will literally be plowed over by masses of car tires, feet, wheels, hooves and paws, and never get to where they're going.
So, in short, Chinese drivers are very good at what they do (you have to be here), and when they come to America and get behind the wheel, they use their offensive-driving tactics and reflexes to get where they're going. Think about it, if you were trained to drive in the same environment as they were, it would be very difficult to shake the habit of "must-get-there-first, go-go-go-swerve! there's my chance-go!" that they instinctively assume when driving.
I do, however, also firmly believe in the "When in Rome..." philosophy, and think that Chinese people who want to drive in America need to familiarize themselves with OUR rules, and try their best to study our defensive-driving tactics in order to prevent accidents. Because Americans just don't expect people to drive like that, and might not be able to avoid a Kung-fu driver move.
I am learning to drive the Chinese way, and have seriously had to grow a set of cojones just in order to park the car! If I drove the American way here, I would be the one causing accidents, because people behind me wouldn't expect me to suddenly wussy-out and stop to yeild for anything.
I hope my answer will be read, and will help people better understand the "Chinese driver" (I prefer "Everybody was Kung-fu driveaayying"...ha!) phenomenon in America.
Peace!
Jen

Answer 10

That is a stupid stereotype. There are bad drivers that are not Chinese and there are good drivers that are Chinese. I myself tend to wonder why so many old folks drive so sloooow (not all, of course).