Chinesepod - Minor traffic offences

Opinion / Liu Shinan

Minor traffic offences
By Liu Shinan (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-09-21 05:55

Parramatta Road in Sydney has narrower lanes than Jingshun Road in
Beijing but traffic on the Australian motorway is faster than on its
Chinese equivalent.

Both are suburban non-freeways. The number of vehicles is not the problem
- traffic on Parramatta Road is much denser. The issue is the behaviour
of motorists.

On Jingshun Road, you see too many cars changing lanes frequently,
cutting in without regard for the vehicles behind or forcing their way
ahead of cars lined up at traffic lights. Such inconsiderate acts slow
down, or even stop, traffic flow, and sometimes result in collisions.
Similar phenomena are seen every day on roads in Beijing and other
Chinese cities.

Few drivers stop or slow down at zebra crossings if there is no control
light. Should anyone stop to let pedestrians pass, drivers behind blow
their horns to urge him to move.

Pedestrians and bicycles, in their own ways, slow down traffic. Waiting
to cross the street, they often throng both sides of the vehicle lanes
rather than on the sidewalk, thus leaving a narrow passage for motor
vehicles.

Definitely, nobody is deliberately trying to slow down traffic. But most
road users seem to care little about what effect their moves will have on
other people. When a motorist speeds past a puddle splashing water over
passers-by, when a cyclist crosses the waiting line to stand in the way
of a right-turning car, or when vehicles on a jammed highway occupy even
the hard shoulder, they may not be willful acts to harm others they are
only concerned about their own convenience. But they infringe upon other
people's interests and rights. More importantly, they contribute to the
disruption of our social order by doing so.

Traffic conditions mirror the state of society. Minor misdeeds such as
the above-mentioned are seen in nearly every aspect of our social life.
Many sociologists attribute the problem to the "quality" of Chinese
citizens, or our civilization.

The improvement of the overall quality of the Chinese nation is too big a
topic to discuss in this column but at least we can make a start by doing
something to improve traffic conditions.

Two things have to be done in earnest - tightening the enforcement of
traffic laws and regulations; and raising awareness of the importance of
following traffic rules.

These are not new ideas but they have not been addressed seriously. For
instance, traffic authorities have launched education campaigns in the
past. The emphasis, however, was on warning road users against "major
offences," such as speeding, drunk-driving and jumping red lights. Little
has been done to urge people to change their bad habits such as "minor
offences."

Equal, if not greater, attention, however, should be given to these minor
offences. Although reducing the rate of traffic fatalities by cracking
down on "major offences" is more a priority to traffic authorities -
obviously the fewer the number of fatal accidents, the more "successful"
the authorities appear to be. "Minor offences," however, warrant more
attention, for they represent the habits of a vast majority of the public.

Changing these habits will be a great contribution to the improvement of
the quality of life of Chinese citizens. Traffic authorities can play
their part in this regard. For example, if, through more forceful
implementation of traffic laws, both motorists and pedestrians become
more patient in waiting for their turn, our traffic will be much safer
and more efficient.

(China Daily 09/21/2005 page4)

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