Reaction To The Driving Laws
News July 27th, 2008
Columnist Liu Shinan of China Daily describes what happened after putting the alternate driving days rules into effect.
On the morning of July 20, the first day Beijing exercised the rule on alternate permission of vehicles on roads according to their license numbers, I was driving on the Fourth Ring Road as my license number happened to be an even one.
However, I was not as joyful as I had expected myself to be, because the traffic didn’t seem lighter than usual. I soon discovered the reason why the road was still crowded - at least part of the reason: of the four lanes, one was the “special lane reserved for Olympic Games-related vehicles”.
Sure, most citizens will not complain against the necessary measures the government has taken. And we know that alleviating traffic congestion is not the sole purpose of the new road policy. Improving the city’s air quality is more important.
But that day I did have some dissatisfaction.
When I drove on the Fourth Ring Road, I saw some cars without special passes issued by the organizing committee running in the “Olympic lane” right under the watchful look of some policemen, who, however, made no attempt to stop it. I felt somewhat resentful and believed that most other drivers who stuck to the legal lanes felt the same, for it so happened - despite the seemingly unreal coincidence - that the radio was broadcasting instant comments from some listeners on the same topic.
Unfortunately, a small but determined number of people using the designated Olympic lanes as a passing lane (a major problem in Beijing traffic is drivers using the shoulder or even the sidewalk as a way around gridlock) seems to be defeating a lot of the drivers’ advantage.
Hopefully this will still help with auto-related air pollution in time for the Games!
Via China Daily
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Why doesn’t this surprise me? Chinese drivers following the road rules?