On the Road in Guangzhou

If you were to judge the safety of the city by its taxis, GZ would never welcome any visitors.

Every taxi driver is fenced into a metal cage. The only contact a passenger can have with his driver are in the spaces between the metal bars that are spaced approximately 5 inches apart each. In NYC, the only contextual equivalent I can imagine is if our taxi drivers were enclosed in a plexi-glass box with only a small slot through which we could hand him cab fare.

In the front of the cabs, where NYC cabs post a sticker warning of the dangers of not wearing a seat belt and/or prohibiting car seats in the passenger seat, a sign is posted bearing the warning that the only passengers allowed in the front seat are women or children. And the passenger seat is reputed to be electrified in case of a robbery. We were not interested in testing that reputation.

A cab ride (or any other car ride for that matter) in GZ is absolutely an exercise in sheer will. It should only be attempted by the truly brave. Aside from traffic lights and crosswalks, no other discernible traffic rules exist. Here, cars drive haphazardly around circles reminiscent of Washington D.C.'s [in]famous circles. Here, cars brake suddenly for pedestrians weaving their way across the a major road with no crosswalks. Traffic merges between two cars are like an old Western duel between cowboys: He who gases first wins the merge.

The roads in a southern suburb of GZ are shared by cars, various farm vehicles, and what at first appears to be charming covered wagons. However, the passenger in a car on these roads will witness countless traffic incidents where a car and a wagon have both lost the war of the traffic merge, and the two vehicles have simply collided. In short, the ride is not suitable for children, pregnant women, and those with heart conditions!