Heads Up, Shenzhen Pedestrians: No Joke, Be EXTRA Careful!
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The current situation in Shenzhen: cars yield to pedestrians, and pedestrians yield to e-bikes.
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Cars yield to pedestrians and e-bikes. Pedestrians yield to e-bikes. E-bikes can go the wrong way, run red lights, honk incessantly at pedestrians, and compete for road space with cars. E-bikes are basically invincible.
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Try to walk as close to the side as possible. Don't deliberately try to make way for them, as that can actually make you more likely to get hit. If they honk from behind, just ignore it and keep to your side.
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Some of them don't even honk; they just brush right past your shoulder, even when you're already walking on the very edge. It's truly lawless.
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In Shenzhen, e-bikes and pedestrians often share the same path.
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Exactly, some roads just don't have bike lanes. The ones with those large sun umbrellas are especially scary – it feels like they could slit your throat!
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It's clearly a government planning problem. If there are no bike lanes, of course e-bikes will use the sidewalks. The regulations even allow e-bikes on sidewalks. This is a conflict between the people and the government, but you've misunderstood it as a conflict among the people themselves.
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It is a government planning issue, but the behavior of many e-bike riders is genuinely poor. In some places where there are bike lanes, they still insist on riding on the sidewalk, honking non-stop.
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When my husband first moved to Shenzhen, he also rode his e-bike on the sidewalk. I told him to be careful not to hit anyone. It was only a couple of days ago, after he'd actually spent time there, that he told me e-bikes are supposed to use the sidewalk and aren't allowed on the main roads.
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Learned something new.
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Shenzhen is really unfriendly to e-bike riders. There are no dedicated bike lanes, so you're forced to share with pedestrians on sidewalks. And when there's road construction, you sometimes have to ride right in front of bus stops. Coming to Shenzhen has really killed my love for e-bikes.
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Yesterday, I got off the bus, and the area next to the bus stop platform was fenced off, so I couldn't walk there. I had to walk on the road, which was full of cars, and I even got honked at. I was speechless.
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Oh my god! This is near my home! I rarely use this specific road unless I'm going to the community health center, KFC, or Yi Dian Dian. But for the stretch near Fuan Noodle King, I've complained over forty times about e-bike issues, and it's still not being taken seriously.
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They want pedestrians and vehicles to share the path, yet they've also designated half of it for parking spaces. The red line in front of shops is as wide as the sidewalk itself, and then there are even a few steps. Who is all this supposed to be for???