Photos taken from buses will protect lanes

Buses will be able to get some revenge on cars blocking bus-only lanes starting Sept 1.

Under a new initiative, drivers will be ticketed for using bus lanes, thanks to photographic evidence from cameras installed on the buses themselves.

As many as 110 sets of surveillance cameras, or "electronic eyes", have been installed on buses running on 13 key routes through the city's four main streets. The routes include Chang'an Avenue, Ping'an Avenue and streets that connect Chongwenmen, Qianmen and Xuanwumen.

Private vehicle drivers will have to pay a fine of 200 yuan if they are caught using a bus lane, something that is outlawed by the Chinese road traffic safety law.

"But it's unfair," said Wang Jia, an IT engineer who has been driving for seven years and who says buses don't stay in bus lanes but stray into the lanes for regular traffic.

But Wang's observation has been taken into account. Bus drivers caught using regular lanes will also be subjected to a 200-yuan fine.

They will be exempt from the fine only if they are directed to drive in a regular lane by a police officer.

"I believe the penalty will work," Wang added. "But the ultimate solution is to put a limit on the number of new cars on the road."

As of Aug 15, the number of motor vehicles on Beijing's streets had risen to 4.4 million.

Traffic accidents have been increasing along with the number of new cars. As of Aug 23, 604 people had died this year in accidents in Beijing.

According to local media, the Beijing Bafangda bus company started installing cameras last October on each of its 6,000 buses. Each bus will have three cameras fitted, to the front, middle and rear.

Surveillance cameras can also be found on buses with route numbers that start with a 9.

Song Jianguo, director of the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau (BTMB), said on Aug 25 at a conference about traffic safety that "starting from September the city will target the Top 10 illegal road traffic activities", with the "electronic eyes" just part of the crackdown.

In addition to vehicles using bus lanes, Beijingers are known to be furious about drunken driving and problems between pedestrians and cars at intersections.

Drunk driving has caused 40 accidents and 54 deaths so far this year, according to statistics released by the BTMB.

Around seven people die each month because of drunken driving.

As a result, the BTMB has stepped up enforcement against drunken driving.

So far this year it has dealt with 44,000 drunken driving cases. On average, the bureau investigates and punishes 6,000 drunken drivers each month.

China Daily

(China Daily 08/30/2010)