A guide to driving in Beijing during the Olympics

BEIJING (Reuters) - Tourists seeking their own Olympianchallenge while attending the Beijing Games this August mightbe tempted to get behind the wheel of a rental car and take aspin on the roads of the Chinese capital.

For these intrepid tourists, here are some tips about howto drive in Beijing, a city with three million vehicles on itsroads. Those who find the road rules overwhelming can ride thesubway or take taxis, buses or limousines to sports venues. 1.Physics 101

Beijing drivers seem eager to challenge the physicsprinciple that no two objects can simultaneously occupy thesame point in space.

For instance, lane markers are largely ignored, serving noreal purpose in keeping cars apart. When drivers want to get agood look down the road but the view is blocked by cars infront, drivers don't think twice about sliding halfway into thenext lane and then straddling two lanes for as long as seemscomfortable.

It's also not uncommon for drivers who have missed theirexits to simply put the car in reverse and back up intotraffic.

2. No-Look Turns

Some countries have rules allowing right turns on redlights. Beijing has something unique: No-look turns. That'sright, they follow the maxim that "if you see me, you'reresponsible for not hitting me," and its corollary, "if I don'tsee you, it's not my fault if I hit you."

As a result, drivers regularly come flying into streets,merge onto highways or even switch lanes without the slightestattempt to check whether the way is clear.

This habit seems a direct extension of China's bicycleculture, whereby every move is a calculated negotiation amongthrongs of cyclists flowing at roughly the same speed and inthe same direction.

Keep your eyes open.

3. Emergency Lights

Don't panic if you see a police vehicle's flashing lightsin your rear-view mirror. As a Chinese friend explained, policeand other emergency workers typically turn them on just to showthey are on duty. If there's no accompanying siren or honking,you can ignore them. Everyone does.

China may be an authoritarian state, but that doesn't meanauthorities get much respect. Certainly, on the road they haveto fend for themselves. Ordinary drivers can be seen honkingand flashing bright lights at patrol cars that were deemed tobe going too slowly.

4. Lost in Beijing

Reading maps is critical for anyone navigating a foreigncity. But newcomers to Beijing may want to familiarisethemselves not just with Beijing's main streets but also itsbridges. That's because major intersections are known by thenames of the overpass bridges that link intersecting streets.

Strangely, English maps give only the names of the roads,not the bridges. Road signs, however, give distances toupcoming bridges, not the roads. Go figure.

5. Give An Inch

Perhaps it's understandable in a country of 1.3 billionpeople that you don't get ahead by patiently waiting your turn.On the road, as in other aspects of their lives, Beijingerstend to grab opportunities whenever they appear.

Such chances might come in the form of a few inches ofspace between cars in the next lane, just enough to squeeze inthe car's nose and present the driver behind with the dilemmaof giving way or causing a collision.

The good thing is that Chinese drivers are generally notaggressive, and the high-testosterone road rage that is commonon many U.S. highways, for instance, is not typical in Beijing.

6. Now Exhale

To its credit, Beijing is trying to keep drunk drivers offthe road by making random spot-checks. Officers armed withportable breathalyzers jump from the curb when cars stop forred lights, forcing drivers to exhale into the machines.

Unfortunately, the mouthpieces are used over and over asthe officers move down a row of cars.

When this driver made a feeble attempt to blow into themachine without making contact with the mouthpiece, animpatient officer suspected he'd caught a transgressor. Heordered me to the curb-side for a more thorough check. Thistime, though, he took a new mouthpiece from its plastic sealbefore the second test, which gave me the all-clear.

Happy driving, but be careful out there!

(Editing by Megan Goldin)