Life in Hangzhou - October 23rd, 2006
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02:36 am
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Driving in China
Well, I finally decided to get my Chinese driver's license. I still think traffic is really scary and dangerous here, but it was getting to inconvenient not to have one. We often make long trips to visit factories that require a whole day of driving, so I want to be able to take turns with our driver so he doesn't get too tired.
The process turned out to be easy beyond all expectation. I just had to show them my Washington State driver's license, take vision and hearing tests, and pass a simple computerized exam. The exam can be taken in English, French, Russian, German, Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, or Korean. The questions are about half multiple choice (A, B, and C) and half True-False. It is easy because all 200 possible test questions and answers are available to study ahead of time from an exam prep booklet you can
purchase. Besides, most answers are extremely obvious to anyone with half a brain. Others, like #30 below, don't make any sense and just have to be memorized. Here are some example test questions, copied from the exam booklet:
5. Applying for registry of the motor vehicle, the applicant should make application to A :
A. traffic control department of public security organ
B. transportation administration of Ministry of Communication
C. municipal construction department
16. While driving a motor vehicle, a motorist shall be abide by the A :
A. right-hand driving principle
B. left-hand driving principle
C. middle driving principle
30. If a passenger vehicle has reached its utmost capacity limit, it is a rule that the number of children free of charge must not exceed C of that limit.
A. 30%
B. 20%
C. 10%
61. Before driving the motor vehicle, the driver B :
A. can drink only a little wine
B. mustn't drink any
C. can only drink beer
73. If there are children playing on the road, you should B .
A. speed up and pass quickly
B. slow down in advance, if necessary, stop to give way.
C. warn by pressing the horn and pass as usual
87. If there are too many injured needed to be sent to hospital in critical accidents, you should send C to hospital first.
A. those whose wounds are bigger
B. those who has been fractured
C. those who are under the state of coma, hemorrhage, hard in breathing, and those whose internal organs, such as intestines, etc. have been deviated.
88 T or F: The beginning of learning driving or going into driving is a critical period for the development of the driver's professional morality: T
The test was easy, thanks to being able to memorize all the answers from the exam booklet, and I passed with a perfect score. Actually driving in China is not so easy though, as I found out last week when I drove about 100 km from Cixi to Hangzhou. The freeway part was not bad but when I got into the city it was rush hour and the traffic was CRAZY. The cars on the road were all over the place, not drivng in any particular lane. Pedestrians and bicycles would dart out in front at random. It was really tiring. I guess I'll just have to get used to it though.
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