The biggest involuntary risk you take when in China is traveling by car. It's best if you close your eyes and pray you arrive to your next destination in one piece. Driving by car is unavoidable. Gasping and clenching your teeth is pretty much how you get by. Every day it seemed we had a near accident. It didn't help much that it rained most every day, all day. We did see two episodes where pedestrians had been hit by a car. Crazy & sad. We drove on the wrong side of the road more than once for over a mile. It's fair game for all types of cars, bikes, makeshift bikes, scooters and people to be on any type of road at anytime, including freeways. Once to two inches of space between cars is common. The car horn is used constantly - constantly! It serves as a warning that you are coming, so everyman for themselves and you'd better watch out. In hindsight quite entertaining and more of an adrenaline rush than a roller coaster.

Something to note. Steve (a coworker from our China office and primary driver) keeps a bat in his car in case he needs it. Comforting.