Han Ximin
MOTORISTS involved in minor traffic accidents who fail to move their vehicles to the roadside and cause a traffic jam will be fined 500 yuan (US$75), police announced Thursday.
The new rule, to be introduced next month, will apply to minor accidents in which responsibility for the accident is clear.
Liu Fengjun, chief of the Shenzhen Traffic Police Bureau, said police would punish drivers who cause more than a 50-meter-long jam in two lanes, or cause 15 vehicles to queue in a single lane. On busy streets, drivers involved in minor accidents will be punished if they fail to move their cars within five minutes of the accident.
In parking lots, drivers who cause a traffic jam lasting more than 10 minutes following a minor accident will be punished.
The bureau will record accidents using video cameras after receiving reports. After collecting the evidence, police will ask motorists to leave the road in order to negotiate.
Drivers can also take photos with their own cameras and take them to the nearest traffic police station or insurance company offices to complete compensation procedures.
Police reminded motorists to keep a form for speedy claim in their vehicles in case of accidents. Drivers can get the forms at gasoline stations, car showrooms, hospitals and vehicle inspection stations.
The city had 1.9 million vehicles, including 300,000 vehicles registered outside the city, by the end of September. This figure is increasing by 15 percent per year. Shenzhen now has a car density surpassing 300 vehicles per kilometer road, exceeding the world warning standard of 270 vehicles per kilometer, police said.
Police receive an average of 1,494 accident reports every day. Eighty percent or more are minor collisions.
