Don Tai (Canada) Blog

Bicycling instead of driving a car is not only healthy but is great for the environment. Unfortunately here in North America, specifically in Toronto, Canada, bicycling is relegated to tree kissing environmentalists and kids. This is too bad for everyone. An excellent video by Clarence Eckerson, Jr. shows what is working in Copenhagen, and what could work here in North America.

I have lived in Beijing, China for a couple of years and the bike culture there is pretty safe. This has degraded somewhat now as more people become wealthier and can afford cars. It’s sad to see China go backward on bicycles, but such us progress in the People’s Republic of China.

So pathetic are the driving standards in China that there are a huge number of crashes. China is a world leader in vehicular crashes per capita. If only there were some rules that everyone followed. I propose simple ones such as drive/ride on the right side of the road and stop at traffic lights. It seems like total chaos if there are not enough police around to hand out and collect tickets. I find this video quite amusing, but should not, because people in the video get seriously hurt and cars and bikes get damaged. It is funny because sadly it does reflect what we saw on Chinese roads when we visited China.