I suppose it has to do with the recency of the automobile culture in many parts of China where drivers are first time drivers in their entire generation. Compare that with folks in say more developed countries who have a generalizeable automobile (ownership) culture such as say Japan, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, the United Kingdom --- and thus its harmonious detail to observance of roadside laws and unwritten driver etiquette. For example my uncle's wife -- my aunt-in-law -- who is a native of Guangzhou , most of her family near the village of Shipai are recent owners of automobiles. It was unheard of for many of her family members say during the 1980s, 1970s and earlier to have owned cars. I've heard plenty of stories about how her parents' used to bike from Shipai to Guangzhou downtown to Qiangang district. Quite solemnly empowering and humbling, really. Taking that into consideration (that historical aspect) and the current development of the present , i can see how the younger generation in Guangzhou are more economically sound to afford cars, suvs may sometimes violate traffic laws since their parents' or grandparents' never taught them to drive or were brought up in an automobile-focused family social culture. I suppose that should change with the advent of time.
If i were to compare then it would be similar to say my grandfather's generation vs my generation. My grandfather grew up in a fairly average-Japanese family in Sapporo and tho his own father afforded his children schooling, they never owned an automobile (that was usually a privilege of the wealthy elite during the 1920s, 1930s era). However, when my grandfather came back from the war, he owned his own first automobile and i can tell you the memorable stories of my grandmother and grandfather almost getting into accidents as my grandfather "broke into" the car, lol. Fond memories. Now compared to my generation, my grandfather's generation (who never owned cars at such a young age) , the current generation would be considered "expert" drivers since we have been indoctrinated to an automobile-focused family culture.
I suppose the paradigm that I would stress is what we Psychologists call as 'OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING'.
Regards,
Kenji
What happened ? And was this case in Australia or outside of the country?
