Walk this way

I’ve come to the conclusion that Beijing citizens take their life into their hands whenever they try to go anywhere.

The traffic here is brutal – and we’ve only seen the half of it since they’ve banned half the cars from driving every day based on whether they have an odd or even license plate number.

The roads are also jammed by bicycles. Most Chinese stay in the bike lanes, but some feel compelled to merge and turn right in front of cars, buses and trucks. Few Chinese, if any, wear helmets.

With cars and bikes to dodge, pedestrians need to be brave – or foolhardy. Either way, a sizable portion of Beijing pedestrians walk the streets seemingly thinking that every car or bicycle is programmed to brake or swerve out of their way.

Check out the guy crossing the street on the video – the cabbie honks at him, but doesn’t slow down.