Move Your Car
This morning we arrived in Wuxi, a city just outside of Shanghai. Similar to our first week in Beijing our first day was filled with numerous touristy activities. We have a new tour guide, his name is Joe and he likes to tell jokes. Joe’s English is probably the best out of all of our previous guides. While driving around the city of Wuxi we saw a few different car accidents, nothing major, just a few fender benders. The group however was getting annoyed because every time there was an accident in the road the Chinese people would not move their cars, they simply got out of their cars exactly where the incident took place and stood there. Also, a few people who witnessed the accident will come and stand in the street. This all adds the confusion and congestion of China’s traffic. It wasn’t until later in the day when Dr. Li explained that in China after an accident it is almost “illegal” to move your car until the police arrive. After a collision, the two parties exit the vehicle and determine whether or not the police need to be called, if they agree to call the police they must leave the cars exactly where they are. This is a little ridiculous in my opinion especially in areas with such high traffic. However, keeping the crime scene untouched allows the police to more accurately assess the situation and appoint blame. In American after an incident the two parties typically pull over to the side of the road and contact the police. But since the cars have been moved it is hard for the police to get a clear image of the situation, especially when the parties begin to lie to protect themselves. China’s way may seem to be more of a headache to the other drivers on the road, but by not moving their vehicles it actually helps the authorities evaluate the situation.