Best foot forward

Supplementary to the new regulation on China's roads, Hubei province has ruled that drivers must give way to pedestrians, many of whom said they look forward to seeing more provinces adopt the rule.

"Pedestrians are a less-advantaged group on the road than cars and should be protected," said Lu Xiang, 30, who spent seven years in Hawaii studying for a doctorate and now works as a computer engineer in Beijing.

"When I returned to Beijing last year, it took me a while to get accustomed to Chinese drivers once again. They never let you go first and some even blast the horn at you. But in Hawaii, all cars must stop when the drivers see pedestrians in front of them."

Unaware of the rules, on his first day in Hawaii, Lu said he waited for a car to pass him. "The driver was annoyed and shouted 'Go, go, go!' at me, so I then ran across the road. That incident made me feel much safer than in Beijing, because at least the drivers know when to stop. That's why I am a strong supporter of the Hubei decision."

"One should not enter the intersection if the light is yellow because if it turns red, you will receive a traffic violation ticket and pay a fine," said Lockwood Young, a retired physician in Honolulu.

Young has spent a total of five months in Beijing during three trips to China since 2011. For him, like many other foreign visitors, crossing the road can be dangerous. "When I was in Beijing, crossing the street was a challenge, and I had to trust my own observations to be safe. Irrespective of the traffic lights, I always had to look out for oncoming cars, especially those turning left or right," he said. "So the rules have to change."