Drivers say rules on yellow lights unfair
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E-mail China Daily, January 5, 2013
Traffic management authorities have pledged to upgrade traffic signals after motorists protested the new, harsher penalties for running yellow lights.
The pace of signal upgrading will quicken, the traffic management bureau under the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement on Thursday.
New traffic regulations that took effect on Jan 1 stipulate that drivers who run a yellow light will have six points deducted from the 12 allocated points on their licenses.
The new regulations, branded China's harshest traffic rules ever by many online observers, caused an outcry among motorists, as many traffic lights do not have countdown timers, which show drivers how long they have before the lights change from green to yellow.
According to the new regulations, drivers who have any part of their vehicles across the stop line when a light turns yellow will not be punished, but vehicles that are behind the stop line will not be allowed to cross.
Jiang Mingsheng, a taxi driver in Beijing who has 33 years' driving experience, said the regulations have put him under pressure when he drives past road crossings, as many traffic lights in Beijing do not have countdown timers.
"I ran a yellow light the other day. I was meters away from the stop line and the lights suddenly turned yellow. I was almost in the middle of the road after I put my brakes on and stopped the vehicle," he said.
"I don't think anyone would be able to stop the vehicle in that case," he said.
At traats without the timers, if a driver were to suddenly stop his vehicle as the lights turned from green to yellow, he would probably be rear-ended by the vehicle following him, he said.
"Traffic regulations should ensure smooth traffic flow. It seems to me the work rate at road crossings is being reduced," he said.
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