Posted by
MarathonHK
17 yrs ago
Is it just me, or do any other people find it really irritating how a lot of drivers in HK just sit permanently in the fast lane, not overtaking anyone, and refusing to pull over when a faster car comes behind.
This forces a lot of cars to undertake (even police), and I have never seen the police pull anyone over despite many signs indicating "drive left unless overtaking".
If you decide to not bother and undertake, you can sometimes drive the whole way to the airport without leaving the middle lane as the slower cars seem to be in teh right lane.
I have driven in many countries and have never seen anything as bad as here..
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It's very normal! Been driving here for years and people seem to use the lanes as they want. After a while you just get used to it and undertaking becomes the norm. Road driving here in HK is frustrating and it doesn't take much to block a highway!
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Even the headlights sometimes don't work.. Recently one slammed the brakes for a second when I flashed my lights at him. It seems that some just take it very badly when they get overtaken.
It is true that a lot of driving is frustating here but it s also surprising that the police don t do more. They seem to be quick at delivering parking tickets in some places that are just ridiculous.
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i have never noticed that hk has overtaking lanes at all. always thought they are all equal here (but then again i don't drive myself here but only sit in taxis)
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In my opinion the OP's complaint stems from the fact that many HK drivers have poor situational awareness. They know what is ahead in their lane, and will look when changing lanes. However when it comes to helping things run smoothly in intersections and roundabouts, or just basically read the traffic flow and react to changing circumstances, they often do poorly. It's very much "by the book" without a lot of creative thinking involved.
Having said that, I prefer the defensive and somewhat passive driving style that seems to be common here to the free for all of, say, I-95 in Connecticut. Or even the road rage cauldron that is London.
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Agree with you axptguy.. A good example is how most drivers will never leave room for a car coming from a crossing street and will block the way, unless it s an intersection with yellow markings on the road. It sometimes cost you no time to let someone without priority go ahead of you if your road is blocked. Here, someone at a stop sign should always wait for the entire flow of traffic to go through as most drievrs will stick bumper to bumper so no one can squeeze in.
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PYUOW
17 yrs ago
Haven't had the pleasure of driving here yet, but from the passenger seat of a taxi it's clear that Hong Kongers aren't particulary strong in front of the wheel! I'd say they drive like the typical European woman - slightly 'drive-by-numbers' and seemingly unaware of the rear-view mirror's existence!
Whilst I haven't driven yet, I've experienced similar frustration on escalators. Why don't these clowns stay to the RIGHT? They may be too lazy to walk up the up, but why impede me? But it cracks me up when I steam up behind them and 'excuse me' sends them scurrying apologetically to the right as if it had never occurred to them that someone might be wanting to walk up the lhs! Surely it's happened to them before, or do they have the memories of their much-revered fishy-friends?
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Not only escalators. On the sidewalk. No, please, keep weaving slowly from left to right at a snail's pace. Don't worry about it if I seem to be in a hurry. And stop suddenly if your phone rings.
It's a mindset thing for sure. I had it drilled into me at an early age to stay out of the way if I was standing in an escalator. Here I think it has to do with attitude towards strangers. It's not that people are impolite; it's that you, as a stranger, aren't given much thought. Perhaps it is a defense mechanism against the crowding.
BTW a nice loud "mm-goi" gets people out of the way much faster than "excuse me". ;)
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I would recommend that people get their priorities sorted out. Driving a car is a potentially dangerous activity. The only sensible option is to drive safely and defensively - the most important thing is to arrive safely at the destination. If that means putting up with driving in the slower lane, so be it.
Driving flat out, changing lanes to overtake slower drivers, etc etc might save a few seconds, or even a couple of minutes, in the average journey. At the risk of causing an accident, is this marginal time saving worth anything at all?
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The problem isn t really driving in the slow lane. THe problem is having to constantly undertake, not knowing if the car on your right has seen you and will eventually pull over not expecting anyone to undertake.
It is even more dangerous when often you get trucks and buses in the fast lane as reduced speeds and just won t pull over. In most countries, trucks are only allowed to use the slow and middle lane.
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On a related topic......have indicators been disabled on most Hong Kong cars? Or is it a criminal offence to use them? It would seem so because I rarely see any indicator lights when a car is turning
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Probably the same cars who disable the lights.. DOn t seem to need them at night or in car parks... =)
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Was a bit peeved last night when the Mister Softee ice-cream van got in front of me just before the road turned into 3 lanes. Sure enough it went into the fast lane...but was still pulling away from me when I'd hit 85 (my max with the 70 limits)!
But it's the lack of indicating that annoys me most. Is indicator usage included in the local driving tests? Is it considered a sign of weakness to indicate?
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"I would recommend that people get their priorities sorted out. Driving a car is a potentially dangerous activity. The only sensible option is to drive safely and defensively - the most important thing is to arrive safely at the destination. If that means putting up with driving in the slower lane, so be it."
That's not the issue. I respect HK drivers for driving defensively. However bad situational awareness can be just as dangerous as driving too fast. Also, when we're talking 10-15km/h stuff through intersections, letting the right car through despite priority can unclog stuff for everyone, without any danger.
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dbg
17 yrs ago
I think a lot of the problem here is that when you take driving lessons, you are not taught to actually "drive" you are taught to pass the test. A simple example is that learner drivers are not allowed on any multi-lane roads, so have no idea what to do on them once they pass their tests.
On the whole, frustrating and dangerous, but happening more frequently. I think a large part of it is that police seem to concentrate mainly on parking and speeding fines these days, and not on other driving offenses, probably because parking and speeding are easy, and good sources of income.
Just my $0.02
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joga
17 yrs ago
When I first moved to Singapore and later hk I found the local driving habits extremely annoying. Then I decided to embrace SE asian style and stopped changing lanes and instead adopted the the slow drift style as was well as always letting other drifters in. Once I lost my Sydney born drivers aggression things worked a charm. I didn't notice more accidents while living in HK but I did notice less road rage than home. And coming home to the island from tst where 8 lanes suddenly become 2 would not work in any other country. All those of us who indicate without out thinking would be busy trying to strangle the driver of the car next to us. Love the slow drift.
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That's the style, Joga. Adapt to the system and life becomes...pleasant.
I love this comment, "I'd say they drive like the typical European woman - slightly 'drive-by-numbers' and seemingly unaware of the rear-view mirror's existence!"
I'd like to see how those drivers compare to the local truck drivers who can fit 40ft of truck into 20ft of space without damage.
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don t really like the system so don t feel like adjusting to it. I d rather see it change to be honest.
After all, all the problems we discuss here are in the Road User's Code.
For overtaking
"Overtake only on the right, unless traffic is moving in queues and the traffic queue on the right is moving more slowly than you are. Never move to a lane on the left to overtake. You must not use a hard shoulder for overtaking."
This rule is never sanctionned by police, yet try to park on the side of a 20 m wide street where there s no traffic and even buses park, and you ll be sure to be fined.
Which one is dangerous?
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cd
17 yrs ago
Would just like to say that I know someone who was pulled over and fined for sitting in the fast lane too long on the airport rd, when there was no other cars around. So just occassionally the police notice
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Ironically they seem to have noticed when it didn't actually matter ("no other cars around"). ;)
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Honestly, folks, go with the flow - accept the things you cannot change, change the things you can, and have the wisdom to understand the difference.
Stress will kill you long before a slow driver in the wrong lane will - unless of course you do something stupid and cause an accident, which might kill you even quicker!!!
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I did notice that the Hong Kong School of Motoring offers special and optional courses on "driving abroad". Interesting that.
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