Traffic police in the capital are experimenting with digital recording pens to help them deal with traffic violators and accidents.

The digital devices were supplied to traffic police in Dongcheng and Chaoyang, two main districts in downtown Beijing.

Traffic police who record an incident with a motorist can protect themselves against interference or malicious complaints from drivers, according to the municipal traffic bureau, who did not say how many recorder pens it had acquired.

The recorder pens also encourage traffic police to follow correct procedures when carrying out their work and behave in a fair and civilized manner, said the bureau.

For the moment, the recorder pens are a pilot project. A number of issues still have to be considered, such as possible infringements of drivers' privacy or the question of whether recordings obtained in this way can be admitted in court as evidence. About 3,000 traffic police work on Beijing's roads every day. They sometimes encounter poorly-behaved drivers who react aggressively when caught violating traffic rules.

(Xinhua News Agency November 14, 2006）