June 10th, 2005On the streets
I wasn’t sure how to call this thing but according to Qz who was with me on that day, it’s a taxi stand. I’ve seen this thing in a few places in Shanghai before but I’ve never bothered trying to see if it works.
Here the one at 国康路 near Tongji University:
I had taken out my camera to snap a few pics. Qz pressed the button to see if it works. Well, it doesn’t. 
I think the hands sign were supposed to light up but they didn’t . A taxi went by without stopping. See Qz’s blog entry for more pics of that day. He was trying some Taekwondo moves. 
This taxi stand reminds me of the button we are supposed to press at some of the pedestrian crossings.
When I first came to Shanghai, I always tried to see if those buttons worked. None did. What’s the point of even having those things then? I was so scared of crossing the road here. 
The Chinese people are crazy drivers. Where there are pedestrian crossings without those traffic lights, the Chinese drivers don’t bother slowing down or stopping for a few secs to allow people to cross the road. I’ve started to get used to it now but still, I can’t help feeling that I’m never safe on the streets. Not that I’ll get attacked or robbed… Just that I might get run over by one of those vehicles. In Mauritius, the drivers usually slow down to let people cross the street, esp if it’s a woman who wants to cross. 
. I had the choice either to have the...
The crosswalk buttons work where I live, but they put alot of pressure on you when you use them because when the traffic stops and you get the walk light, they also have a countdown! It feels like, “You have xx seconds before the cars to death mow you down!”
Quote?i never saw one of those taxi stands?? they look like fun tho!
i was too busy looking out for taxi-stealer/pusher-inners!! 
i SO know how u feel about crossing the roads…sooo so scary in shanghai 
perpetually fear for your life 
no such thing as ‘give way to pedestrians’ 
i nearly got run over so many times ESP by buses! transport system is so crazy over there. But the trains were good 
um…minus the (extreme) pushing.
Quote?There was a place near SISU (the uni i went 2 in SH), an intersection outside Carrefour (Jia Le Fu). And it had LIGHTS! THat count for you!! omg…i was so happy
They have in Singapore and so far those that I’ve pushed worked
Yep, the LED lights up when pressed.
Quote?crazy little gadgets i might say…
btw you’ve been tag!
Quote?ehehe…yea…u have to look not twice not thrice but at least 10 to 30 times before during and after you cross the road
Crazy mofo drivers…
Quote?>.<
Quote?Chinese pedestrians are just as crazy, if you ask me
Remember when Chinese workers started coming to Mauritius, there were so many accidents because they were crossing roads without the least care. Sad, but true
Quote?I know what Eddy means, I’ve often said that I would hate to see what would happen if people in this town, JinZhou, were to go to the US.
The thing about Chinese drivers and pedestrians is that they work when you put them together in China, but they are deadly when they are elsewhere, or outsiders come here.
All you have to do is think about the new law in China that states the driver is always at fault in an accident involving a pedestrian/cyclist, to realize driving is not the “norm”.
Remember, driving is relatively new to most Chinese. And, most Chinese are still walking/cycling, so pedestrians are in a majority. (I know this is not really the case in ShangHai, but it is for the larger part of China.)
If people started using some new contraption on the highways in your country, that interfered with automobiles, you would have the same thing occurring where you live.
I’d be too scared to push any button in China that said “Push”. Of course, here, there are more taxis than the city needs, you don’t need a sign.
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