Police are handing out thousands of reflective stickers and tags to residents to try to curb the number of traffic accidents.

They are being given away free for two weeks in shopping centers and car-care shops and will allow pedestrians and cyclists to be more easily seen at night, according to Shanghai traffic police.

Sun Weihua, 25, who started driving two years ago, said he would be more relaxed if pedestrians and cyclists wore the stickers and tags.

"As many pedestrians tend to ignore traffic rules, walking on roads, I am quite nervous when driving at night," said Sun.

Statistics from local traffic police show that 24 percent of last year's 1,543 fatal road accidents in Shanghai happened between 5 pm and 9 pm.

There were no statistics for those occurring after 9 pm.

"People with no driving experience cannot imagine the difficulty of seeing clearly while driving at night especially when an approaching vehicle has strong headlights," said Yang Daxin, a manager with 3M which is producing the stickers.

But many people doubt whether they can really work.

Those interviewed said they would like to see the stickers used; they are supposed to be stuck on the back wheel of a bicycle. But three of the interviewed doubted whether tags hung on a bag or belt could be seen.

"The tags could easily be covered by your coat or body," said Jiang Jinhua, a 28-year-old IT engineer.

And they might look weird, said Gu Chenli, a Shanghai lady.

It is not clear whether all stickers and tags, about the size of a bottle lid, can really be seen from a distance.

But Yang Daxin said they can be easily seen from as far as 100 meters.

Yang added that more and better products will be introduced in due course.

Gao Xiang, an official with the Traffic Police Department under the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau, said the department might seek further co-operation with companies like 3M to promote road safety.

(China Daily May 26, 2005)