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More than 1.6 million people in Shanghai were fined for various traffic offenses, such as jaywalking and running a red light on their bicycles, during the first five months of this year as part of a city effort to improve conditions on local streets.
That number doesn't include the larger number of minor violators who were let off with a verbal warning, according to the Shanghai Public Security Bureau.
Fines ranged from 5 yuan (60 US cents) for jaywalking to several hundred yuan for major offenses such as drunk driving.
While the number of fines is impressive, local officials admit setting ticket quotas for traffic police is not the best way to improve traffic or evaluate their job performance.
To further improve the situation, traffic cops will soon be evaluated on how well they improve the situation on the streets they control. Improvements will be judged on the number of accidents in their patrol area and the general traffic condition.
There were some 22,600 traffic accidents in Shanghai during the first five months of the year, killing 551 people and injuring more than 4,800, according to Zhao Qihong, spokesman of the Shanghai General Team of Traffic and Patrol Police.
"Construction and numerous violations are the two major causes of traffic jams in Shanghai," said Zhu Yinglei, vice director of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau.
Since the city can't stop construction, the key to improving traffic is to maintain good order by stopping violations, Zhu added.
Local police will begin a new three-month crusade against violators in July, focusing on 10 common propels including drunken driving and jaywalking, Zhu said.
The police will be assisted in the campaign by 2,000 new civil traffic assistants. The city already has 3,000 such assistants, mainly elderly people who stand at street corners waving flags and yelling at violators.
Officers admitted that some traffic violations are hard for them to catch on the spot, such as changing lanes at will on the expressway.
A new reporting system will be adopted soon to help with that problem. Citizens will be asked to report any violations they witness to the police, who will issue a warning to the violators and recorded the event.
"If reports on a driver reach a certain number, he or she will be punished," said Zhu.
(eastday.com June 17, 2003)
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