Driving|beijing travel

2009-03-26

Most visitors find they have enough trouble surviving Chinese traffic without actually taking the wheel. It is generally best to just rent a car with a driver, or to employ a driver if you buy a car. The following is some useful information you should know if you want to drive by yourself.

License

PRC laws say that foreign residents can have driver's licences and that an IDP can be converted to a local licence, possibly with an additional examination. Actually getting a license may be complicated. The particular complications seem to vary from place to place and over time. Some people have been asked to take a written test in Chinese. Others get a bilingual test form, or are allowed to bring a translator. Sometimes you can be excused from the actual driving test if you have a foreign license, sometimes not.

At least in some cities, electric scooters are legally treated as bicycles. You do need to register the vehicle, but only with a bicycle license which is cheaper and easier than a motorcycle license. You do not need a driver's license to ride it. There may be restrictions in where you can ride it, e.g. not in the main traffic lanes.

Laws

In mainland China, the traffic drives on the right-hand side of the road. Various neighbors –Macau,India,Nepal and Pakistan drive on the left.

Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China

The official driving code in the People's Republic of China is the Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China . There is a supplementary regulation to the Road Traffic Safety Law which specifies how specific regulations in the main law are supposed to be carried out.

Over the years, Chinese Police have tended to accept the IDP (also called IDL or IDD), or translations to the format of an IDP. They focus very much on their on the spot judgement of the driver being sufficiently skilled and experienced to drive safely with respect to his own and others safety.

In case of an accident, if it is minor as a scrape, most people just drive on. If you stop and agree about whatever, you can then continue. It is common that the failing driver pays money to the other drivers and that is then the end of the matter. If you disagree, you must not move the cars until the police arrive, which can take time. They usually check registration and licenses, and photograph the incident. In case of personal injury, you should stop and offer assistance.

If you suspect that the police have taken bribes from the other party, which happens, make them aware that you know about the Ministry of Supervision (which ruthlessly deals with corruption), the Olympic Committee and the Tourist Complaint Board. It can have a profound effect on procedures. Police in China are usually very helpful and understanding towards visitors.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">Speed Limits

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">Speed limits are as follows:

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">30 km/h(19 mph) on city roads where there is only one lane per direction,40 km/h(25 mph) on China National Highways;

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">Up to 70 km/h (43 mph) on city roads where there is a major road with central reservation or two yellow lines,80 km/h (50 mph) on China National Highways;

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">100 km/h (62 mph) on city express roads;

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">120 km/h (75 mph) on expressways.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">Tolerance is generally around 10 km/h (6 mph). Some expressways may have tolerance set all the way up to 20 km/h(12 mph); however, anything around 15 km/h(9 mph) to 20 km/h(12 mph) over the stated speed limit is relatively high risk.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">Speed traps are conveniently identified with the characters (radar speed check zone) or (speeding detection camera).

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">Penalties for exceeding the speed limits are as follows:

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">Up to CNY 200 for excess speeds over 10 km/h but under 50% of the speed limit. Example: if driving at 100 km/h (62 mph) in a 80 km/h (50 mph) zone.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">Up to CNY 2,000 and possible loss of license for excess speeds over 50% of the speed limit.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">Road conditions

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">The physical condition of roads and road maintenance varies greatly from municipality to municipality.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">1 City Roads

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">In major city roads traffic is often congested, even on the myriad of city ring roads (except those on the outer fringes of the city).

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">2 China National Highways

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">Beijing municipality is the only administrative unit where tolls are not charged for China National Highways. Elsewhere, though, these are toll roads on the national, and sometimes on the provincial level as well.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">G-level (national) China National Highways are a pleasure to drive on. The speed limit is 80 km/h (50 mph) but cars often zip at speeds over 100 km/h(62 mph), thanks to the relative absence of speed detection cameras.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">S-level (provincial) highways may be less smooth to drive on. Unlike national highways, sometimes there is no central reservation or road separation, and you may be limited to one lane per direction.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">X-level (county) highways are not necessarily the worst to drive on, but they are challenging. More challenging are township-level highways.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">3 Expressways

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">Expressways and express routes in China are a godsend, with traffic signs in both English and Chinese, emergency facilities, service areas, sufficient filling stations, plenty of exits, high speed limits, and the relative lack of traffic jams.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">Although in English, both express routes and expressways are referred to as "expressways", Chinese counterparts are named differently. "Express routes" are written , whereas expressways are written as . The idea is that express routes connect the inside of cities to larger municipalities, whereas expressways do the national work, connecting one center to another.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">Express routes have lower speed limits than expressways. In Beijing, a few expressways have speed limits below express routes: these are the Jingjintang Expressway (Beijing segment) and the Jingha Expressway (Beijing segment). They are clocked at 90 km/h (56 mph).

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">Vehicles

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">1 Car

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">Renting a car normally is not recommended for the ordinary visitor. Besides being extremely expensive, driving in Beijing can be quite complicated, language difficulties included. Many hotels, however, rent cars that come with drivers, for those who can afford it, up to 1000 yuan per day.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">2 Motorcycles

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">The Chinese climate is generally conducive to motorcycle riding, and you see bikes everywhere.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">There are some restrictions. Motorcycles are forbidden on most freeways and some cities forbid them in the downtown core, in an effort to control traffic congestion. For example, motorcycles are banned from downtown Guangzhou and Hangzhou, and in certain areas of Beijing and Shanghai. Riding a motorcycle into these prohibited areas can lead to fines and possible confiscation of the bike. There can also be licensing complications; for example in some places a bike registered in a suburb cannot legally be ridden in the nearby city.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">There are motorcycle-based tours of various areas, often with rental of a Chang Jiang included:

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">HC Travel, based in UK, offer Chang Jiang tours to Great Wall,Tibet and Mongolia

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">Dragon BikeTours Chinese based, offer a Silk Road tour

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">The 8th annual Motorcycle Tourist Festival in Yinchuan

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">Yinchuan has an annual Motorcycle Tourist Festival in late June.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">3 Sidecar

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">The most interesting bikes in China are Chang Jiang. Back in 1938, BMW designed a 750 cc flat twin side-valve sidecar rig for the German army. At the end of the war, the Russians moved the entire factory to the Urals and began producing Dnieper and Volga bikes to that design. They also gave or sold China the equipment and Chang Jiang are the result. There's also a modernized version with overhead valves and electric starter. These are not your high performance sport bike; even the new OHV model is only 32 horsepower. However, they were designed for military use and are very solidly built. They are 20-odd thousand yuan new. They are invariably sold and ridden with the sidecar; it might not be possible to license them without it.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">There are lots of older Chang Jiangs around and if you buy one that is old enough, it may be classed as an antique vehicle. This might mean it is exempt from your country's import restrictions; most safety and pollution laws have some sort of exemption for antiques. This is risky; some people have lost bikes at customs. You need a thorough understanding of your country's regulations before even considering it.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">One vendor that does this type of export is Sidecar Solutions in Beijing. They also rent bikes, organized tours, and help with Chinese drivers licenses. Another Beijing Chang Jiang specialist with similar services is Gerald. It is common for a rebuilt machine from one of these vendors to cost somewhat more than a new bike straight from the factory would; people say they are worth it because of the better quality control.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">4 Electric scooters

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">Electric scooters are common and cheaper than motorcycles (1,500 yuan for a base model, 3,500 yuan for the top-of-the-line). While they lack the horsepower and range of a motorcycle, they are quieter, cleaner, lighter, and easier to maintain. Scooters come with a battery (or batteries) that are usually removable as well as rechargeable from a household outlet. At least in some cities, these vehicles are licensed as a bicycle so one does not need a driver's license to ride them and may take advantage of bike lanes and sidewalks (if present) to circumvent traffic.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">Scooters are a target for thieves, so always ensure that one or, ideally, both wheels, are secured with a solid lock. Batteries as well are liable to be stolen and should be locked to the scooter with the built-in mechanism or stored indoors while not in use. Some residences allow for scooters to be brought indoors overnight, which is preferable.

style="MARGIN: 7.8pt 0cm">Source: Wikitravel