Truckies, drink-drivers targeted in Beijing road blitz

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-08-02 21:40

BEIJING: Beijing's roads authority is to crack down on traffic violations with more monitoring equipment and tougher penalties.

Truck drivers would be particularly targeted as they were responsible for a disproportionate number of accidents through overloading and fatigue driving, said a statement from Beijing's Traffic Management Bureau.

Truck drivers would face 10 to 15 days in police detention and fines of up to 1,800 yuan (263 US dollars) if they tried to avoid police checkpoints, it said.

The city recorded 148 truck-related accidents involving 178 deaths, 32 percent of Beijing's road fatalities in the first half.

Drink-drivers, people who ran red lights, and hit-and-run drivers were also involved in many accidents, said the statement.

Speeders and motorists hogging emergency lanes on freeways would also be targeted.

More TV monitors and police patrols would be deployed on accident blackspots, such as the city's Fifth Ring Road, it said.

In June, the death toll on Beijing roads was 165, a rise of 33 percent year on year.

From January to July, 508 accidents were reported on the city's roads and 562 people died.

In the same period, the number of accidents in freeways hit 73 with 98 dead, accounting for 17 percent of the total death toll, and the number of accidents caused by drink-driving reached 81 with 97 dead.

On July 28, seven people died in an accident on the east Fifth Ring Road, the most serious traffic accident this year.

The city saw an extra 1,744 vehicles on the roads each day in the first six months, a 40-percent year-on-year increase, according to the bureau.

In June alone a monthly record of 58,000 new cars hit Beijing's roads.

As of July, the city had a total of 3.77 million vehicles and 5.45 million drivers.