The meteoric growth of China's auto market has been fueled by inexperienced motorists. So it comes as no surprise that rush hour in Beijing -- or Shanghai or Shenzhen -- sometimes might remind one of a Mad Max movie.
Last week, the Ministry of Public Safety reported that traffic police in China have handled 17 million incidents involving road rage this year.
The ministry released its report on the eve of National Traffic Safety Day, an event that apparently was not widely celebrated. Last year, 82,100 accidents in China were caused by angry drivers, according to the Xinhua news service.
We're not talking about garden variety dust-ups. In a notorious incident captured on video last May, a motorist in Chengdu viciously beat a female driver who had been cutting from lane to lane.
And in November, an angry motorist in Heilongjiang province forced an ambulance to pull over several times following a dispute with another driver, The Wall Street Journal reported.
China now has more than 169 million car owners, and many apparently make all the mistakes we'd expect from American teens. Last year, accidents caused by distracted drivers caused 21,570 deaths, according to Xinhua.
