"Where were you 'trapped' today?"

According to taxi driver Yao Shan, many of his fellow taxi drivers in the Chinese capital have developed the habit of "greeting" each other this way after a day's work, referring to where they were caught up in traffic congestion.

At 36, Yao has been a driver for nearly 20 years. "I'm seriously considering whether to switch to another job," he said.

During rush hours, according to Yao, nearly half of his time on road is wasted in traffic jams. Says he, "Sometimes I tell my passengers to get off if they like, or we would both feel uncomfortable watching the fast-running odometer."

Beijingers have to ensure the same ordeal day after day. The Beijing Municipal Traffic Management Bureau (BTMB) admits that every day, 40% of the city's wage earners spend at least one hour commuting between their homes and workplaces, and that only 5.5% of them are able to reach their workplaces in less than 20 minutes.

In not a few places in downtown Beijing, cars and buses have to inch forward at a snail's pace during rush hours. In 1994, the speed averaged 45 kilometers per hour for vehicles on roads within the Third Ring Road. Right now, it is no more than 20 kilometers per hour, and in some busiest intersections it can be brought down to seven kilometers per hour, barely faster than walking on foot.

Drivers like Yao expects that the new traffic law taking effect on May 1 this year will help ease the traffic congestion, as unethical driving practices of many on the wheel are an important factor for the jams.

According to the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau (BTMB), 1,018 traffic accidents are reported in the city every day, and 80% of them are caused by "apprentice drivers" - those who have just obtained a driving license after a couple of weeks' training at a driving school.

Drunken drivers are not exceptional even though they could be sentenced to up to seven years in jail for causing an accident that results in deaths. Unruly driving aggravates the problem of traffic congestion. When a car breaks down at a busy intersection during rush hours, a queue of several hundred cars will form behind it in just seconds.

With the promulgation of the Law on Road Traffic and Safety on Saturday, tougher penalties will be levied to above-mentioned violators and drivers, bicycle riders as well as pedestrians are expected to behave in manners more conducive to the smooth flow of traffic.

However, many are still not optimistic about the traffic prospect with just the enactment of this law. There are people who also attribute the problem of traffic congestion to too rapid an increase in the number of private cars.

(Xinhua News Agency May 1, 2004)