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Gary's random little things about China:
Parking your car on the sidewalk is legal in most places in China. I am talking fully on the sidewalk, and fully blocking the sidewalk, so that nobody can walk there at all. After all, there is a perfectly good roadway for pedestrians and cars to share just past the edge of the sidewalk - right?
In many urban areas, there is a sidewalk parking attendant who will ensure that you park in such a way that no one can use the sidewalk at all. They will also charge a fee of 2 Yuan (26 cents) for up to a full day of sidewalk parking privileges.
The green light means "go". The Yellow light means "20 more cars should enter the intersection". The red light means "5 more cars enter the intersection and become a nuisense to pedestrians trying to cross the street".
Actually, the green light means "Try to go, but you'll probably have to wait for the yellow or red light before you get your chance".
If you get in a car accident, it's best to argue briefly with the other driver, and then both drive away. When the police get involved, everyone gets fined, and someone might lose their license. The fines are generally higher than what it will cost to fix your car, so hanging around to exchange insurance information is rare in minor fender-benders.
If your car is too damaged to drive away, you are screwed. The police own and operate all of the tow trucks in most Chinese cities. You will be fined, charged for towing, charged an impound fee, and may lose your license.
On long stretches of highway, police checkpoints are occasionally set up. They may be stopping drivers and summarily fining them for wearing sunglasses or talking on a mobile phone while driving. However, in the next stretch of highway, another police checkpoint may be issuing fines for driving without sunglasses.
Under certain circumstances, and if you are really unlucky, drivers who get in injury accidents while drunk may be executed. If you are caught drinking and driving just once, you will be fined, and will probably lose your drivers license for the rest of your life.
Thus, drunk driving has become very rare in China.
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