Minor traffic offences
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)