Chinese Three Ways, Shanghai

Chinese people usually come in threes, as family units are made up of two parents and a single child. But you can also see other types of three-ways (the G-rated kind) around Shanghai on scooters:

Although technically made only for two people, scooters often carry three, as Chinese friends don’t mind cramming a bit in the name of efficiency…

But if you have younger, smaller children, some larger scooters can quite comfortably fit three people… Especially if you add a chair in the front:

So it’s the perfect vehicle for a family on a budget, as most scooters can carry the whole family while costing next to nothing because they run on electricity… But there were two issues I saw when examining this picture:

1 – the child is standing up and facing backwards, which can’t be the safest way to ride a scooter.

2 – the lights are no in sync in the background, as the one of the left is yellow and the one of the right is green with 1 second left… Not the safest situation for a child on a crowded scooter.

But I guess three on a scooter doesn’t seem that dangerous or out of the ordinary for Chinese people, as you can also sometimes see scooters with four people… That’s a bit much if you ask me, even if (especially if) there is a child on board.