Chapter 28 Talk about prudence

There is a saying in "Book of Rites" "Ask about the prohibitions when you are in a country, and ask about the customs when you enter a country", which means that when you first arrive in a country, you must first ask about the taboos there; when you enter a foreign country, you must ask about the local customs. You probably heard a loud bang, followed by a biker lying on the ground bleeding profusely, and a bike that had slid out a dozen feet and was smashed by a door. Of course, there may also be you who was hit by a car. the road of life, walk carefully Tomorrow you will go on a three-day graduation trip, and then you will go to a music camp for another seven weeks. Tonight, during dinner, I especially told you to be careful outside, especially when crossing the road.

You smiled and said that you are so old, can't you cross the road? Let me tell you the truth, because our house is next to the school, and your mother drives us every day. You are too inexperienced in crossing the road. I am afraid that your eldest cousin has crossed more bridges than you have walked. Your mother added with a smile: "I'm afraid her little cousin in the second grade of elementary school has traveled more than her." Child! You are not young anymore, you can legally stay at home alone, and you can also help other people look after their children.But you must know that you still have too little experience outside, and you follow your parents every time you go out, so you must not think you are great.It is especially important that you know that going out is not the same as being at home, and going far away is not the same as being in your own small town.

There is a saying in "Ritual Heart", "Ask about the prohibitions when you are in a country, and ask about the customs when you enter a country", which means that when you first arrive in a place, you must first ask what taboos there are; when you enter a foreign country, you must ask about the local customs.Didn’t you hear what Aunt Guo who came to our house not long ago said? When she was in an Arab country, she had to wear a black robe when she went out; the female relatives of diplomats from various countries are like this, and when they go to the banquet, they take off their black robes, Show off the chic look inside.

Why did she have to do that, because it was a local rule, even if she was the wife of a diplomat, she had to abide by it, otherwise there might be trouble. Your brother also said that driving in Manhattan is not the same as driving in our small town.In our town, if you see a green light change to amber, you have to brake immediately; but in Manhattan, if you are following a large truck, even if the amber light is about to turn red, you have to rush over. Why take the risk? Because if you don't take this risk, there will be greater danger later.The big truck behind that, thinking that your small car will rush over, he can also "snatch" it, so when he sees the yellow light, instead of slowing down, he slams on the accelerator.I didn't expect you to brake urgently at this time, and he didn't have time. Even if he reacted quickly, he couldn't brake because of the size of the car.

Think about it, if you were driving and braked when you saw a yellow light, would it be wrong? Of course you are! But under different circumstances, it may become an irreparable mistake. I also had the same feeling when I first came to the United States. I found that in the alleys full of cars parked on both sides, if children run around in the middle like in Taiwan, they are likely to be hit by passing cars, so I always tell your brother Be careful. This is because drivers in Taiwan are used to it, and they are particularly cautious in alleys, while drivers in the United States do not have that sense of crisis.

For the same reason, please pay attention in the future, our friends who first came to the United States from Taiwan drove, even if they were driving on the "arterial road", they would definitely slow down at every small alley to prevent cars rushing out suddenly. But when he stays in the United States for a long time, he will never slow down again.Originally, cars on the main road go first, and there are red signs warning "Stop" at alleys. Cars in alleys must "stop completely" first, and then come out after seeing that there are no cars on both sides. At this time, if a driver who has just arrived in the United States is not used to obeying the STOP warning in his original country, if he rushes out all of a sudden, will he collide with an oncoming highway vehicle? And the collision must be serious.

I have to tell you with deep sorrow that when I first came to the United States twenty-five years ago, I heard that a painter friend from Taiwan had a car accident on a Florida road and both husband and wife died. Then a photojournalist for the company I worked for was hit and killed by a car on Long Island, New York. Not long after, a China TV reporter who was interviewing with me in the United States also had a car accident in California. Before he died, he kept yelling Help me! Help me! It's still on my mind. Later, I often wondered why so many friends from Taiwan who had just arrived in the United States had car accidents. Are they particularly careless when walking? Or are they poor driving skills?

After many years, I finally figured it out, which is what I told you at dinner today—because of the change of location, traffic habits and ethics, they are not used to it. You may ask, so what should you do? OK! Let me simply say - You must strictly abide by the traffic signals. When the street lights on one side change from green to red, you must not think that the other side must turn from red to green and go forward, because there may be a signal to turn left and turn right, and the other side is turning right. There are cars that take the time to turn or go straight. So you must see clearly that the sign at the intersection you are going to really shows that you can go, and wait for another two seconds before starting.

Secondly, you must maintain a certain speed when crossing the main road, and don't suddenly slow down or speed up.This comes from a cautionary experience of mine—— When I was still in university in Taipei, one day I was crossing the road when I looked up and saw the bus coming, so I ran forward quickly, and after only half a step, I saw a locomotive slanting past me very vigilantly. Passing obliquely, the knight kept looking back at me, scolding me as he looked, as if scolding me for running so fast that he would hit me and kill me. He was right in cursing, because in places with heavy traffic, motorists and motorcyclists often count the speed of pedestrians and weave through traffic.He originally calculated that you would not go there yet, and was speeding forward, but you ran forward suddenly, and you were likely to hit him.

Another thing is to get on and off the bus, you never jump out of the bus or run from the side of the bus like you do on the school bus in our small town. Because in our small town, once the school bus stops, even the cars in the opposite lane have to stop and wait, otherwise they will be fined more than one hundred dollars.But as long as you cross the boundary between New York City and Long Island, the traffic rules are different. You should also know that when someone else is driving and you get out of the car, you must ask the driver to keep the car as close to the side of the road as possible, and don't stop at a distance from the side of the road.Although in our small town, there is probably no problem doing that, but if you are in Manhattan one day, you may just open the door and hit a bicycle speeding behind you.If you go to Taiwan, it will be even more dangerous. You may hear a heavy impact, followed by a motorcycle rider lying on the ground bleeding profusely, and a motorcycle that has slid out more than ten feet and was hit by the door.

Of course, there might be someone you who got hit by a car. I'm sorry! I've said all this just because you're going to be away. I hope I won't scare you.But I also want to emphasize that I hope you will always remember my words, which may benefit you for a lifetime.