Indulgence of bad driver habits now coming to an end

ON SATURDAY, the Beijing traffic bureau said drivers involved in minor accidents who cause congestion by not moving their vehicles to the side of the road will be fined 200 yuan ($30). Guangzhou Daily commented on Tuesday:

The collisions that cause traffic jams are usually only minor incidents. But if the parties occupy road space while they argue about who was at fault and the compensation to be paid, the traffic builds up behind them as other drivers have to maneuver past them or else are unable to proceed. Congestion often builds up even though the vehicles involved in the accident can be easily moved out of the way so as not to cause an obstruction.

Strict punishment of drivers who cause an obstruction in this way is necessary both to keep traffic flowing and to maintain road safety, as congestion is one of the triggers for road rage.

By 2015, the number of automobile vehicles in Beijing had reached 5.6 million and according to a survey, 60.72 percent of car owners in the capital said they had experienced road rage as a result of traffic problems on the road. Quick tempers on the road are dangerous and actually cause many of the accidents.

Compared to Western countries that take an uncompromising approach to uncivilized road behavior, China has been very tolerant of inappropriate behavior by drivers on the road.

Beijing’s move shows this tolerance is coming to end.