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Beijing cracks down on jaywalkers
中國式過馬路“湊夠一堆人”VS“闖紅燈罰款”
Jaywalking in Beijing now comes at a price. The city recently started fining pedestrians for ignoring crosswalk signs. But will it be enough to stop them?
It’s an all too common sight in Beijing. A red light and mob of pedestrians rushing across the street.
But now the city is slapping jaywalkers with fines. Beijing’s Traffic Management Bureau recently announced pedestrians who disobey crosswalk rules will be fined 10 yuan or about $1.60.
Chen Longbo, deputy director of Beijing Traffic Management Bureau, said:” In an effort to raise people’s awareness about traffic safety we are educating them and implementing fines for pedestrians who break traffic rules.”
The move is already generating a buzz among Beijing residents.
Old people can’t always see the traffic lights well. Children should also be educated about traffic rules in school not from fees.
But while the rules have already been challenged by some pedestrians here, they are also raising the important question about why jaywalking is so prevalent in China.
"The Chinese way of crossing the street" has become a common term among China’s netizens after videos showing crowds of jaywalkers hit the Internet. The term refers to hoards of pedestrians crossing the street at the same time, blocking traffic. According to media reports, 80 jaywalkers used this tactic to illegally cross a single intersection in Beijing last year. That was during a span of just five minutes and with a traffic cop on duty.
Results from a recent study by the Ministry of Public Security also support findings on the trend. The study found that more than 63 percent of traffic violators said they were simply following what others did.
“Before I would always cross the road on a red light if other people did. Now, I will just look to see if there are any policemen.”
Furthermore, traffic police say the practice of using safety in numbers could also be applied to dodging tickets.
A traffic policeman said:” If one person refuses to pay then others will follow suit. This could make it very difficult for us to implement the new rules.”
So while pedestrians may now think or at least look twice before crossing on a red, solving Beijing’s jaywalking problem will likely take much more than just a fine.
