Police in Beijing are cracking down on pedestrians crossing the road ‘China-style’.
Crossing a junction in China’s capital has long been a dangerous and confusing affair. Many pedestrians pay little attention to whether or not the light is red or green, choosing instead to take the road one lane at a time, dodging lorries, cars, motorbikes and other reckless jaywalkers as they go. Unfortunately, this haphazard habit causes an untold amount of accidents and congestion.
Facing spiralling inefficiencies and injuries, Beijing’s law makers have begun to introduce new laws forbidding jaywalking and are giving crossing guards more authority to punish offenders. Pedestrians caught crossing illegally will face a 10 yuan ($1.60) fine, while cyclists will pay double.
Zhao Jie, director of the Urban Transport Institute at the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, believes charging hapless pedestrians is only part of the solution, advocating that instead: “the city should offer more help for pedestrians to cross the road.”
Hu Yali, a traffic officer at Nanluoguxiang crossroad in Beijing, had begun preparing for the fines in May. “We had already been emphasising the rules at my intersection for a month”, placing banners and slogans on the streets, such as “obey the lights” and “educate those who ignore the lights.” According to Hu, the number of people who ignore the lights is now “much lower than before.”