Changes in Traffic Safety Policies andRegulations in China(1950-2010)

Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in 7 Countries (1950-2010)
Copyright(C) 2012 International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences, All rights reserved.

Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in China (1950-2010)

Hongmei Zhou

1. Road Traffic Safety in China
1.1 Economic Growth, Urbanization and Transport Development
in China
Since the founding of People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, the country has been experiencing
profound changes in its economic development. In the last 60 years, the average annual economic
growth rate reached 8%. Economic growth has accelerated since 1978, when China started the policyof economic reform and opening-up. In three decades (1979-2009), gross domestic product (GDP)increased by approximately 83 times from 406.3 billion to 34.05 trillion yuan, while the per capita
GDP increased from 419 to 25,575 yuan. During this period, China was the country with the fastest
GDP growth rate, which was 9.76% calculated at 1978 constant price.

Figure 1 Changes in the total population and urban population of the PRC, 1950-2009(Source: http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2010/html/D0301e.htm)

The rapid economic development was accompanied by a dynamic urbanization process. In the last 60
years, the total population has more than doubled, reaching 1.33 billion in 2009. Meanwhile, the urban
population increased by nearly 10 times from 57.65 million to 0.62 billion. As a result, the proportionof urban population reached 46.6% at the end of 2009.
During the last three decades the Chinese government made transportation development one of thepriorities in its national economic strategies, aiming at building an integrated transport infrastructure
system. This had become particularly important since 1997, when the Asian economic crisis broke out.
The Chinese government introduced proactive fiscal policies and strengthened the investment ininfrastructure development (for example, the proportion of highway investment in GDP reachedaround 3% in 2005). The investment in transportation infrastructure contributed to national economic

1Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in China (1950-2010)

Hongmei Zhou

growth and greatly improved the transport systems. Since then road transport has been developing
rapidly in China.

Figure 2 Changes in GDP and per capita GDP, 1950-2009(Source: http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2010/html/C0201e.htm)

As shown in Figure 3, in 1978 the total length of highways in China was about 0.89 million km; thehighway network density was 9.3 km/100 km2. At the end of 2009 the total length of highways
reached 3.86 million km (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) with the density close to 40.2
km/100 km2. Freeways have developed rapidly since 1988, when the first one, the 18.5 km-long
Shanghai-Jiading Freeway, was completed and opened to traffic. In the ensuing 20 years the total
length of freeways continued to grow, reaching 65,100 kilometers in 2009. Meanwhile, the total lengthof urban roads in China reached more than 0.26 million km, increasing by 28% from 2003.

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4,500,000
4,000,000
3,500,000
3,000,000
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
0

70,00050,00040,00030,00020,000Freeways (km)60,00010,000
0

1952
1962
1970
1978
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009

Highways (km)Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in China (1950-2010)Year
Highways Length

Freeways Length

Figure 3 Highway and freeway development, 1952-2009(Source: http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2010/html/P1604e.htm)
Note: Highways are major roads connecting important destinations, such as large towns and cities.
Freeways are access-controlled highways designed exclusively for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all
traffic flow and ingress/egress regulated.

The ownership of civil vehicles grew relatively slowly before 1990. From 1990 to 2000, however, itbegan to increase rapidly and exceeded 10 million during this period. After 2000, it increased evenfaster and exceeded 30 million in 2005. At the end of 2009, the total number of vehicles was morethan 62.8 million in China.
There were no privately owned vehicles before 1980. Thereafter, the number of private vehicles
experienced a mild increase through 2000 to 6.25 million. By the end of 2009, this number had grownby more than 6 times to 45.75 million, and its proportion on overall vehicles had increased from 39%
to 73% in less than ten years.

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Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in China (1950-2010)

160
140

(million)

120
100
80
60
40
20

1978
1980
1985
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009

0

Year
Civil Vehicles

Private Vehicles

Drivers (Civil Vehicles)

Figure 4 Civil and private vehicles and drivers, 1978-2009(Source: http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2010/html/P1624e.htm;
http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2010/html/P1625e.htm)
Note: Civil vehicles are vehicles used for civil purposes, including passenger vehicles (large, medium,small and mini size) and freight trucks (heavy, medium, light and mini size). Private vehicles are
privately-owned civil vehicles.

The number of motorcycles was 675.41 million in 2004.Within five years the number increased byabout 40%, reaching 945.31 million in 2009.

Figure 5 Number of motorcycles, 2004-2009(Source: China Road Traffic Accident Statistics Yearbook 2004-2009)

The number of motor vehicle drivers increased by 70 times during the last three decades. In 2009, thetotal number of motor vehicle drivers was 137.4 million, of which drivers with less than 3 years of4

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Hongmei Zhou

experience accounted for 34.76% and drivers with less than one year of experience accounted for10.46%.
As to passenger and freight transport, Figures 6 and 7 show the changes of share by each transportmode since 1952. As a result of the road infrastructure improvement and rapid motorization, roadtransport developed rapidly. The passenger-kilometer share of highways increased from 9.1% in 1952
to 54.4% in 2009, while the freight ton-kilometer share of highways increased from 1.9% in 1952 to
30.4% in 2009. Railways and waterways remained major modes for transporting heavy cargo overlong distances.

Figure 6 Passenger-kilometers by mode (%), 1952-2009(Source: http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2010/html/P1607e.htm)

Figure 7 Freight ton-kilometers by mode (%), 1952-2009(Source: http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2010/html/P1607e.htm)

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Hongmei Zhou

1.2 Trends of Traffic Accidents and Casualties in China(1) Changes in the number of traffic accidents and casualties and fatality rates
As can be seen in Figure 8, the numbers of traffic accidents, fatalities and injuries in China increased
continuously since the founding of the PRC (note that traffic accident fatalities include those who die
within seven days after the accident). Compared to 1951, the number of fatalities increased by 5.7
times in 1960, 10.3 times in 1970, 24.6 times in 1980, 56.8 times in 1990, 109.2 times in 2000, and75.6 times in 2010. Basically, the number of fatalities doubled every ten years before the year 2000.
As shown in Figure 8, during the periods of 1982–1987 and 1995–2002, China experienced a rapid
increase in the numbers of traffic accidents and casualties. The number of accidents, deaths andinjuries increased by 1.8, 1.4 and 1.6 times respectively within the first period, and by 1.8, 0.5 and 2.5
times within the second period. In 2001 the number of deaths exceeded 100,000 for the first time andpeaked in 2002, reaching 109,381fatalities a year.

Figure 8 Road traffic accidents, fatalities and injuries, 1951-2010(Source: China Road Traffic Accident Statistics Yearbook 2010, pp. 146-147: data are not available for1968 and 1969)

In 2005, the number of deaths dropped below 100,000 again and since then there has been a rapidly
decreasing trend in the number of accidents and casualties. However, the absolute number is still high.
In 2010 the numbers of accidents, fatalities and injuries were 219,521, 65,225 and 254,075
respectively. The average of traffic fatalities in the last five years was 75,514, which ranked thesecond largest in the world, following India.
The fatality rate per ten thousand vehicles also decreased continuously from the 1970s onward,
reaching 3.15 in 2010. On the other hand, the fatalities per one hundred thousand population kept

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Hongmei Zhou

rising until 2003, when it peaked at 8.08 and then dropped to 4.89 in 2010. The different patterns in
the fatality rate changes were probably due to the rapid motorization and relatively slow increase in
the nation’s population. The decrease in the fatality rates was achieved in a period of rapid growth inboth the economy and motorization, which indicates that traffic safety had improved in recent years.
However, compared with developed countries, the accident rates were still high in China. For example,
in 2009 the fatality rate per ten thousand vehicles was 3.63 in China, contrasting with 0.66 in the UK
and 0.64 in Japan. Moreover, considering China’s population of 1.3 billion and the huge number ofvehicles, the absolute number of fatalities caused by traffic accidents was still much higher comparedto other countries. For example, in 2009 the number of fatalities in China was 67,759, about twice ofthat in the US. Moreover, the fatality rate (fatalities/casualties) is about 20%, which is much higher
than that of developed countries.

Figure 9 Fatalities per 10,000 vehicles and per 100,000 population, 1951-2010(Source: China Road Traffic Accident Statistics Yearbook 2010, pp. 146-147: data are not available in1968 and 1969)(2) Traffic fatalities on highways and freeways
Highways had much higher fatality rates than did urban roads. During 2000-2010, the numbers offatalities on highways were generally about 3 to 4 times of those on urban roads. The total number offatalities on highways started declining in 2005. However, the number on freeways continuously
increased from 2,162 in 2000 to 6,647 in 2006, corresponding to the rapid development of freeways.
Then it began to drop slightly. In 2010, the number of fatalities on freeways was 6,300. The top threecauses for fatalities on freeways were speeding, driver fatigue and inappropriate maneuvers.It is also
shown in Figure 10 that fatalities on class 2 and 3 highways were reduced but still accounted for morethan 50% of the total fatalities. In 2010, the number of fatalities on these two types of roads reached
26,419, which was about 57% of the total.

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Figure10 Number of fatalities by highway type, 2000-2010(Source: China Road Traffic Accident Statistics Yearbook 2000-2010)(3) Newly licensed and less experienced drivers
The percentage of accidents and fatalities attributed to new drivers (with less than one year of licensed
driving) and less experienced drivers (with 2-3 years of experience) rose in 2003. This is partly
because the SARS outbreak in 2003 prompted travelers to shift from public transportation to private
automobiles. As a result, there was a huge number of new and inexperienced drivers on the road. They
had less time and fewer opportunities to develop good hazard perception skills required for safe
driving. In 2005, the number of fatalities caused by new and less experienced drivers was 31,534,
which accounted for 43.9% of the total number of fatalities. During 2007–2010, the percentages
decreased to about 30%. Meanwhile, drivers of 6–10 years of experience generally caused more than
25% of the total fatalities each year since 2003.
On the other hand, the percentages of fatalities caused by experienced drivers (with more than 10
years of experience) increased from 2003 onward. However, considering the large population ofdrivers in this group, they were still safer drivers compared to others. Generally speaking, driving
experience accumulated through either on-road driving or reeducation at driving school contributes toroad traffic safety.

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Hongmei Zhou

Figure 11 Percentages of fatalities caused by drivers of different experience levels(Source: China Road Traffic Accident Statistics Yearbook 2000-2010)(4) Safety of pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists
As vulnerable road users, pedestrians, motorcyclists and bicyclist were the main victims in road traffic
accidents. China was still at the early stage of motorization, and thus walking and riding bicycles andmotorcycles were still major transportation modes for many people in the country. The mixed traffic
pattern in China not only intensified the conflicts with motor vehicles but also increased the casualties
of pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists. Since 2005, the government had adopted a series ofpolicies to improve road safety, and the fatalities and injuries of pedestrians, bicyclists andmotorcyclists had decreased year by year. In 2010 the fatalities of pedestrians, bicyclists andmotorcyclists were 16,281, 8,968 and 14,264, respectively, decreasing by 39%, 38% and 37.5% from2004. However, the proportions of fatalities and injuries were still high. In 2010, pedestrians,
bicyclists and motorcyclists accounted for about 25%, 14% and 22% of the total fatalities in roadtraffic accidents.

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Hongmei Zhou

Figure 12 The number of fatalities by traffic mode, 2004-2010(Source: China Road Traffic Accident Statistics Yearbook 2004-2010)

Figure 13 Number of injuries by traffic mode, 2004-2010(Source: China Road Traffic Accident Statistics Yearbook 2004-2010)(5) Severe traffic accidents causing a large number of casualties
Severe traffic accidents that caused more than ten fatalities in one accident happened every year.
Although the proportion of such accidents was not large, they led to very serious consequences andinduced bad social impacts. In recent years, the number of severe accidents has been decreasing.
However, the average number of fatalities in one accident was about 15, indicating that the severity of
those accidents was not mitigated. Severe accidents frequently happened in mountainous areas. Figure
14 shows the number of accidents causing more than ten fatalities in recent years. In 2010, there were
34 severe accidents causing 461 fatalities and 432 injuries. The fatality rate (fatalities/casualties) was

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Hongmei Zhou

55%. Compared to 2000, the number of severe accidents, fatalities and injuries decreased by 41%, 49%
and 55% respectively.

Figure 14 Severe accidents causing more than ten fatalities, 1990-2010(Source: China Road Traffic Accident Statistics Yearbook 2010, p. 153)

1.3 Characteristics of Fatal Traffic Accidents(1) Time distribution of fatal accidents
The number of fatal accidents by month may be influenced by the season, climate, economic activities,
festivals and so on. Figure 15 shows the number of fatalities due to road traffic accidents by month in2010, from which some patterns can be observed. March was the month with the lowest number offatalities, and thereafter fatal accidents generally increased month by month. November and January
had the highest fatalities in the year. The total number of fatalities from November to January wasclose to 20,000, accounting for about 30% of the total number of fatalities during the year.

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Hongmei Zhou

Figure 15 Number of fatalities by month(Source: China Road Traffic Accident Statistics Yearbook 2010, p. 9)

The number of fatal accidents by day of the week in 2010 shows that there were fewer accidents on
Fridays and Saturdays. However, the differences between accidents on these two days and other days
were generally less than 2%.The high proportion of fatalities on weekend may be caused by theincrease of entertainment and recreation activities.

Figure 16 Number of fatalities by day of the week
(Source: China Road Traffic Accident Statistics Yearbook 2010, p. 10)

Figure 17 shows the number of fatalities due to traffic accidents by hour of the day in 2010. The peak
periods were 6-9 a.m., 1-4 p.m. and 5-9 p.m., during which about 52% of the fatalities occurred, whilefrom 1 to 6 a.m. the number of fatalities caused by traffic accidents was around 14%.

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Hongmei Zhou

Figure 17 Number of fatalities by hour of the day(Source: China Road Traffic Accident Statistics Yearbook 2010, p. 13)

A large proportion of fatal accidents happened in the nighttime, especially when there was no lighting.
A driver’s judgment could be affected by darkness, and reduced visibility increased accident risks.
Another reason could be driver fatigue. In 2010, 29% and 17% of all fatalities happened in thenighttime with and without lighting respectively. Necessary safety facilities could reduce the risk ofnighttime driving and prevent many traffic accidents.

Fatalities

Figure 18 Number of fatalities by daytime and nighttime(Source: China Road Traffic Accident Statistics Yearbook 2010, p. 47)(2) Space distribution of fatal accidents
Developed areas in China had many more accidents and fatalities. Table 1 shows the fatalities andfatality rates by province (including municipalities directly under the central government) in 2010.
Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong and Sichuan were the top five provinces with respect to the13Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in China (1950-2010)

Hongmei Zhou

number of traffic fatalities, accounting for 37% of the total fatalities in the year. One possible reason
was the rapidly increasing passenger and freight traffic induced by the economic development in theseareas. On the other hand, Xizang, Qinghai, Gansu, Xinjiang, and Shanxi provinces, as less developed
regions located in western China, had the highest fatality rates. The fatalities per 10,000 vehicles forthese provinces were 18.16, 9.49, 7.09, 6.58 and 5.79 respectively, which were much higher than thenational average of 3.15. The fatality rates of Henan, Hebei and Beijing were 1.11, 2.05 and 2.06 per
10,000 vehicles, which were the lowest in the country. It is also found that the fatality rate per 10,000
vehicles was negatively correlated with the density of high-grade roads. More fatalities happened inrural areas, where high-grade roads were poorly developed and traffic rules were not well followed bydrivers.

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Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in China (1950-2010)

Table 1 Number of fatalities and fatality rates by province
Province

Fatalities

Fatalities/10,000 vehicles

Fatalities/100,000 population

Guangdong

6,203

3.22

6.44

Zhejiang

5,382

4.79

10.39

Jiangsu

5,031

3.45

6.51

Shandong

4,268

2.09

4.51

Sichuan

2,931

3.06

3.58

Anhui

2,877

3.00

4.69

Fujian

2,822

3.82

7.78

Hebei

2,693

2.05

3.83

Shanxi

2,449

5.79

7.15

Guangxi

2,342

2.84

4.82

Hunan

2,162

3.29

3.37

Liaoning

2,129

3.98

4.93

Xinjiang

2,023

6.58

9.37

Hubei

1,944

2.55

3.40

Shanxi

1,944

3.96

5.15

Yunnan

1,886

2.60

4.13

Henan

1,825

1.11

1.92

Jiangxi

1,603

2.72

3.62

Gansu

1,506

7.09

5.71

Jilin

1,454

3.77

5.31

Heilongjiang

1,395

4.15

3.65

Neimenggu

1,375

3.10

5.68

Guizhou

1,136

3.93

2.99

Chongqing

1,017

3.76

3.56

Shanghai

1,009

4.04

5.25

Beijing

974

2.06

5.55

Tianjing

950

5.30

7.74

Qinghai

573

9.49

10.28

Hainan

471

2.80

5.45

Ningxia

442

3.11

7.07

Xizang

409

18.16

14.10

(Source: China Road Traffic Accident Statistics Yearbook 2010, pp. 15-16)

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(3) Accidents by age and gender
In 2010, the numbers of traffic fatalities caused by males and females were 62,972 (97%) and 2,253(3%) respectively. On the other hand, males also seemed to be more at risk than women. About 76%of the fatalities and 72% of the injuries were males.
In terms of age, 31,211(48%) of the fatalities were between 21-45 years old. On the other hand, thesame age group (21-45 years old) also caused 78% of the fatalities in traffic accidents. Fatalities
among those over 65 years old rose every year. Elderly people may suffer from reduced visual acuity
and reaction ability, and it may be more difficult for them to recover from a severe accident; thus thefatality rate was high for this age group. In 2010, about 7,386 (11%) of the fatalities were elderly
people over 65.
14,000

Number of fatalities

12,00010,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0

Age
Victims

Person at fault

Figure 19 Number of fatalities by age of victim and by age of person at fault(Source: China Road Traffic Accident Statistics Yearbook 2010, pp. 56, 59)(4) Accident types
The most common accident types were head-on, intersecting paths and rear-end, which together
accounted for 72% of all accidents in 2010. These types also resulted in severe outcomes. As can beseen in Table 2, head-on, intersecting paths and rear-end accidents accounted for about 27%, 25% and
13% of all fatalities in 2010.

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Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in China (1950-2010)

Table 2 Numbers of accidents and fatalities by accident type
Accident type

Accidents

Percentage

Fatalities

Percentage

Head-on54,49124.82%

17,53126.88%

Intersecting paths

81,86237.29%

16,49725.29%

Rear-end

22,27310.15%

8,957

13.73%

Sideswipe: opposite direction

4,696

2.14%

1,009

1.55%

Sideswipe: same direction

6,948

3.17%

1,588

2.43%

Pedestrians

26,422

12.04%

7,484

11.47%

Overturn

5,440

2.48%

3,570

5.47%

Fixed object

5,993

2.73%

2,697

4.13%

Parked vehicle

2,355

1.07%

1,130

1.73%

Animal

53

0.02%

18

0.03%

Others

8,988

4.09%

4,744

7.27%

(Source: China Road Traffic Accident Statistics Yearbook 2010, p. 8)(5) Causes of accidents
The road transport system consists of humans, vehicles, roadways and the environment. Any defects inthese elements may cause accidents. According to the 2010 road accident statistics, the number ofaccidents and fatalities caused directly by road conditions was small, about 0.01% of all accidents.
Lack of road safety facilities contributed to most of the road-related accidents. Vehicle-related
accidents accounted for less than 0.11 % of all accidents, and were mostly attributable to technicalmalfunctions, including brake, steering, and light malfunctions. However, it should be pointed out thatthe number of accidents and fatalities caused by road and vehicle factors may be underestimated.
Many accidents due to both the road or vehicle factors and human factors were recorded as
human-related accidents.
Human factors include all factors related to drivers and other road users that may contribute to an
accident. Traffic violations of motor vehicle drivers, bicyclists, pedestrians, etc. were generally themain reason of traffic accidents. For example, the number of accidents resulting from violations byroad users was 211,042, which accounted for 96% of all road traffic accidents in 2010. Of these
accidents, 199,934 (91%) was caused by the motor vehicle drivers, 8,745 (4%) by non-motorized
vehicle riders, and 2,363 (1%) by pedestrians and passengers. Compared to 2009, the number ofaccidents caused by these three groups of road users decreased by 8%, 8% and 13% respectively. In
terms of casualties, 62,646 died and 244,492 were injured from accidents caused by road user
violations, which accounted for 96% of the total fatalities and 96% of the injuries. Accidents causedby motor vehicle drivers accounted for 92% of the fatalities and 91% of the injuries, making motorist
violations the major factor behind road traffic accidents.

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The top three violations of traffic laws and regulations for motor vehicle accidents are speeding,failing to yield and unlicensed driving. In 2010, the numbers of accidents and fatalities caused byspeeding were 21,755 and 9,134, which accounted for 10% and 14% of the total accidents andfatalities respectively. Failing to yield where required by traffic laws caused 37,928 accidents and7,788 fatalities, accounting for 17% of the total accidents and 12% of the fatalities. Unlicensed driving
cannot be neglected either, in that it caused 12,637 accidents and 4,443 fatalities, which were 6% and
7% of the total accidents and fatalities respectively. Other motorist violations that were major reasonsfor traffic accidents, included traveling in the wrong direction, illegally occupying exclusive lanes andovertaking-related violations, which caused 3,521 (5%), 2,224 (3%) and 2,101 (3%) fatalities
respectively in 2010. Moreover, 3% of the fatalities were associated with alcohol use.
The top three reasons for accidents and fatalities caused by non-motorized vehicle riders were failingto travel as required by regulations, take-up of vehicle lanes, and traveling in the wrong direction.
Major violations by pedestrians and passengers that caused traffic accidents included walking on roads
prohibited to pedestrians and failing to follow traffic signals.

1.4 National Organization with Jurisdiction over Traffic Safety
Road traffic safety directly involves at least three ministries at the central government level: theMinistry of Public Security, the Ministry of Transportation, and the Ministry of Housing and
Urban-Rural Development (formerly known as the Ministry of Construction).
The Ministry of Public Security is the sole administration in charge of road traffic accidents in China.
All road traffic accident data is collected by the public security administrations in each district orcounty, and then the data is aggregated and reported to the upper public security administration. The
Traffic Administration Bureau of Ministry of Public Security then analyzes the data and publishes theannual China Road Traffic Accidents Statistics.
The Ministry of Transportation establishes the development strategies, policies and regulations for the
highway industry. It is also in charge of planning, construction, operation and maintenance of
highways and freeways.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development is in charge of urban and rural planning andrelated infrastructure construction. It is responsible for the planning, design, construction andmaintenance of roads in the urban areas.
Coordination among these ministries is very important in effectively addressing road traffic accident
problems. The National Inter-Ministry Joint Conference Institute on road traffic safety was establishedin 2003. The institute is led by the State Council. Its major responsibilities include but not limited to
the following:

analyze the current situations of traffic accidents,develop medium- and long-term strategic safety plans,18Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in China (1950-2010)



propose and carry out countermeasures,provide guidance and supervise the road safety work, and

promote coordination among different agencies and sharing of information.

Hongmei Zhou

It is important to enhance the road traffic safety administration system and formulate a national roadsafety strategy to enhance the influence of the institute on road traffic safety at both the national andprovincial levels. The key point is whether or not the plan made by the institute can be effectively
implemented at the local level. In addition, coordination among agencies at the provincial andmunicipal levels is also critical for addressing road traffic safety issues. The National Inter-Ministry
Joint Conference Institute should play a more active role so as to strengthen the coordination among
different levels of government and to ensure the successful implementation of the road safety policies
and strategies.

1.5 Special Issues Concerning Road Traffic Safety in China(1) Lack of safety awareness of road users
Drivers in China are very different from those in developed countries who have “grown up” invehicles. Chinese drivers may possess good driving skills but lack awareness of traffic safety. Chinese
drivers are deeply affected by their experience of riding a bicycle. For example, they tend to change
lanes frequently to overtake other cars, which can save a little travel time but with greatly increased
risk of collision. Most motor vehicle users have poor safety awareness; for example, many drivers andpassengers do not fasten their seat belts. Traffic law violations, such as jaywalking, speeding anddrunk driving are very common, and many offenders go unpunished, so they are likely to continue
taking the same risk. Thus, cultivating common awareness of traffic safety is the first step toward
reducing traffic accidents.
In addition, other road users, including pedestrians and bicyclists, do not have much traffic safetyknowledge either. Thus, it is essential that traffic safety education be conducted at home, school andthe community, from children to adults, in order to realize widespread safety awareness. Furthermore,strict law enforcement and punishment of traffic violations will enhance the effectiveness of safety
education.

(2) Mixed traffic pattern and lack of traffic safety facilities
The mixed traffic pattern on most national highways causes traffic congestion and severe traffic
accidents. Traffic safety features are often neglected in road design. The investment in road traffic
safety facilities was 2 billion yuan in 2004, equivalent to 0.5% of the total highway investment. This ismuch lower than that of developed countries such as Japan (during 1975–1986, the percentage ofinvestment in road safety measures in total road investment was approximately 13–18%, and thepercentage of investment in road safety measures to GDP was approximately 0.2–0.4%). The highest
priority for China is to increase the investment in road safety facilities such as guardrails, speed bumps,

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median barriers, overpasses, etc. Meanwhile, it is important to introduce a cost-benefit approach toallocate the limited funding to the most effective measures. It is a common practice to choose
high-tech countermeasures to address road traffic accidents in China. However, some low-costmeasures—such as mandatory seat belt usage or strict enforcement of penalties on speeding,overloading, drunk driving and so on—might also be very effective alternatives.

(3) Overloaded and oversized trucks and unsafe vehicles
Due to unfair competition and relatively expensive tolls, many freight carriers run overloaded andoversized trucks. Those trucks not only cause heavy damage to the roads (it is estimated that suchdamage may reduce the road maintenance cycle from 15 years to 6–8 years) but also cause many
traffic fatalities. It is estimated that 70% of traffic accidents are related to overloaded and oversizedtrucks. Since April 30, 2004, seven ministries, including the Ministry of Communication and theMinistry of Public Security, have jointly implemented a nationwide program of strict enforcements on
overloaded and oversized trucks. This program is reported to have substantially reduced road traffic
accidents.
Vehicles that fail to pass the required inspections are prohibited from running on roads. However,some of these vehicles are illegally sold to rural areas, where such regulations are not strictly enforced.
These vehicles bring a high risk of traffic accidents and cause emission problems as well.

(4) Traffic accident analysis and data sharing
In China, transport agencies have road departments but few have traffic safety departments. Although
the techniques of road design and construction keep improving, the expertise needed to analyze anddeal with traffic accidents has not developed strongly. Moreover, very few public agencies have acomplete accident database and reliable statistics on traffic accidents. None of them has accumulated
information from hospitals and insurance companies. Due to insufficient human and technicalresources, accident recording outside the urban areas is highly defective, with presumably a large
number of unreported accidents in rural areas.
It is necessary to establish a separate department in charge of road traffic accidents at the municipal
and provincial levels. It is also important to establish a traffic accident investigation system with joint
efforts from the police, medical personnel, psychologists, traffic engineers, automobile engineers, andinsurance companies. Information from hospitals and insurance companies can be used to reexamine
the accident data collected by the public security administration and to complete the accident database.
The database should be open to traffic safety researchers who need these “medical records” todiagnose the traffic accidents.

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2 Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in China
2.1 Laws, Regulations and Rules on Traffic Safety
Before the reform and opening-up of China’s economy in 1978, traffic accidents were not a severe
problem because of the low motorization rate. However, as the number of traffic accidents increased
rapidly in the 1980s, the government began to realize the importance of improving road safety toprotect peoples’ lives, and has played an active role in this field ever since. In 1986, the State Council
announced the Reform of Road Traffic Management Structure, which stated that the public security
agencies had jurisdiction over road traffic in urban and rural areas. In 1988, the State Council
promulgated Road Traffic Management Regulations, and followed up with Disposition of Road Traffic
Accidents in 1991. Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Public Security began to draft the Road
Traffic Safety Law, the first law on traffic safety in China. The law was passed in 2003 and took effecton May 1, 2004. Accompanying it was the Implementation Rules of the Road Traffic Safety Law
enacted by the State Council. The Road Traffic Safety Law provides that:

Motor vehicles have to reduce speed when passing through crosswalks. When pedestrians arecrossing the street, vehicles have to stop and yield to the pedestrians.

Motor vehicle liability insurance is mandatory.



Enforcement against drunk driving is to be strengthened.



Enforcement against overloading is to be strengthened.

Driving without a driver’s license is punishable with less than 15 days’ detention.

Motor vehicle drivers should be responsible for the accidents involving motor vehicles andnon-motorized vehicles or pedestrians. If there is evidence that non-motorized vehicle riders
or pedestrians have violated the laws/regulations in accidents, the motor vehicle drivers areto take part of the responsibility.



Hit-and-run accidents will result in permanent revocation of the driver’s driving license.



The driving speed on freeways is not allowed to exceed 120 km/h.

Local regulations and rules on traffic safety are established based on the Road Traffic Safety Law. So
far, a relatively comprehensive system of laws and regulations on road traffic management in China
has been formed, including the Road Traffic Safety Law and other laws and regulations promulgatedby related ministries and departments, and local governments.

2.2 Inter-Ministry Joint Conference on Road Traffic Safety
In October 2003, the State Council founded the Inter-Ministry Joint Conference on Road Traffic
Safety, which was made up by 15 ministries and departments, including the Ministry of Public
Security, the Ministry of Propaganda, the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Transportation.
In 2009, the Conference membership was enlarged to comprise 19 ministries and departments. The
major responsibilities of the Conference include:21

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

Analyzing traffic safety issues

Proposing countermeasuresDeveloping medium- and long-term strategic plansGuiding and supervising road traffic safety programs at the provincial and municipal levels

Promoting coordination, cooperation, and information sharing among different departments
and agencies

Establishing a long-term mechanism to reduce the number of road traffic accidents andimprove traffic safety in a comprehensive way

2.3 Traffic Safety Campaigns
Since 2003, the public security agencies in many areas of the country have launched a series ofcampaigns to eliminate traffic violations, especially speeding, overloading, drunk driving, fatigue
driving, driving without a license and so on. These campaigns have proved to be effective in reducing
road traffic accidents.

(1) “The Five Improvements and Three Enhancements”
In January 2004, the Ministry of Public Security launched the first nationwide road traffic safety
campaign across the country, namely, “The Five Improvements and Three Enhancements.” It was
aimed at reducing road traffic accidents, especially severe accidents, in order to protect people’s lives
and properties. In 2008, the Inter-Ministry Joint Conference reviewed and passed a motion forextending the campaign. The major focuses of the campaign have been as follows:
1) Improve the quality of driver training and education; the rules on driving tests and driver’s license
issuance should be strictly followed; the qualifications of drivers of operational motor vehicles
should be carefully examined.
2) Improve traffic management, especially the transport of dangerous chemical goods; enhance
traffic safety management for severe weather or emergent events; improve emergency rescue
mechanisms.
3) Improve the management of transportation corporations; strictly enforce the Road Transport
Regulation and other stipulations; urge the transport businesses to supervise their drivers andmotor vehicles dynamically.
4) Improve the management of businesses engaged in motor vehicle production and reconfiguration;
improve motor vehicles’ safety performances and improve vehicle registration and examination
procedures.
5) Inspect the roads regularly and improve the road conditions to reduce traffic accidents andcasualties; improve traffic safety in work zones.
6) Enhance the role of government agencies in promoting the traffic safety programs; related22

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departments in charge of traffic safety should actively take the responsibility of supervision andlaw enforcement.
7) Enhance traffic safety propaganda and education; develop the traffic safety propaganda andeducation system led by the government and implement the program on a long-term basis.
8) Enhance traffic safety law enforcement; complete the traffic safety law and regulation system andtechnical standards; provide training to police officers to improve enforcement and punishment oftraffic offenses.

(2) “Counties and Districts with Safe and Smooth Traffic”
In November 2005, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Transportation decided to
conduct “Counties and Districts with Safe and Smooth Traffic” campaign in all counties andmunicipal districts in the country. By 2008, this campaign had been carried out in most counties anddistricts. The goals set up in 2008 were that:

The number of accidents and casualties would decrease;The number of accidents with 10 or more fatalities would decrease;Fatalities per 10,000 vehicles would be no more than 4.7;

More than 60% of the counties and districts would be those with safe and smooth traffic.

The following measures were proposed to achieve these goals:
1) The government should attach great importance to road traffic safety programs and provide
guidance and support to the programs. The provinces are supposed to hold inter-department
meetings to discuss the implementation of traffic safety management in the rural areas and propose
implementation plans to carry out the campaign of “Counties and Districts with Safe and Smooth
Traffic.”
2) Traffic management departments within public security agencies are the major forces to supervise
the campaign and they should spare no effort to prevent and reduce severe road traffic accidents.
Their responsibilities include: developing road traffic safety evaluation system and freeway
surveillance system; conducting research on measures to prevent severe road traffic accidents;
improving management of motor vehicles and drivers in the rural areas and so on.
3) Enhance coordination and cooperation among different agencies, such as those in charge oftransportation, safety supervision and quality inspection. Motor vehicles failing to pass theinspections should be prohibited from running on the roads. Conduct a complete examination of
freeway signs and markings as well as road traffic safety facilities in the rural areas.
4) Reinforce the education and propaganda of road traffic safety in the counties and municipalities.

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5) Since 2005, goals for safe and smooth traffic have been achieved by 1,826 counties and districts
nationwide.

(3) “Enhancement of School Bus Safety”
In November 2006, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Public Security announced theEmergent Notice of Examining School Buses in Primary and Middle Schools. The notice required that：
1) A large-scale examination of primary and middle school buses be carried out;2) The qualifications of school bus drivers be examined and safety education be given to the drivers;
3) Safety education be carried out in schools;
4) Schools take the responsibility of traffic safety management; and5) Traffic violations be punished according to the relevant laws and regulations.
With the joint efforts of education departments and traffic management department of public security
agencies, this campaign proved to be successful. During November and December of 2006, 87,031
school buses at 116,986 primary and middle schools were examined, and 6,225 of those buses did notpass the inspection. In addition, 3,337 school bus drivers were determined to be unqualified and wereprohibited from driving school buses, and 6,327 school buses were found to be operating illegally.
Violations of traffic laws, such as overloading (7,095 incidents), speeding (3,268 incidents), andfatigue driving and drunk driving (58,813 times) were punished.
In August 2007, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Security and the National Safety
Supervision Bureau issued the Notice of Improving the School Trip Safety for Primary and Middle
School Students and Kindergartens in Rural Areas. The following measures were proposed：
1) Improve safety management of trips to and from schools in rural areas in conformity with therelevant laws and regulations.
2) The government should take more responsibility and enhance cooperation among different
departments.
3) Continue to conduct examination and inspection of the school buses.
4) Reinforce the role of education and propaganda on road traffic safety.
5) School buses that are illegally operated should be banned.

2.4 Improvement of Driving Skills
The human factor is one of the major causes of road traffic accidents. Therefore, improving drivers’safety awareness and knowledge is of great importance in the reduction of traffic accidents and24

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casualties. In recent years, transportation departments have adopted many measures to improve drivers’
driving techniques and traffic safety awareness.

(1) Enhance supervision of driving schools
The qualifications of the driving schools as well as the coaches were examined to ensure the quality of
training. Violations of relevant laws and regulations during training or testing would be investigatedand dealt with accordingly. During 2004 and 2008, about 1,900 driving schools were below thestandard and canceled; more than 9,700 coaches were found to be unqualified and dismissed.

(2) Enhancement of driver education
Taking lessons from the advanced experience and practices in developed countries, the transportation
departments formulated a syllabus for drivers’ training in China. In September 2007, the Ministry ofTransportation issued the revised syllabus for training motor vehicle drivers. According to the syllabus,
there are four steps to the training: the first step is teaching the laws, regulations, and theoreticalknowledge of driving; the second is training basic driving skills; the third is practicing the practical
driving skills on roads, and the last step is giving instruction on the handling of malfunctions and thenprevention of traffic accidents. The four steps are correlated with each other and constitute a complete
training system.
Meanwhile, a book series called Safe Driving Starts Here was published in March 2005. This bookseries is suitable for all kinds of people, regardless of whether or not they are drivers. It plays apositive role in promoting traffic safety awareness across society.
Transportation department personnel went to schools, businesses, libraries, and homes to publicize theconcept of safe driving and give away Safe Driving Starts Here book series, so as to formulate strong
awareness of traffic safety across society.

2.5 Enhancement of the Management of Transportation
Corporations(1) Overloaded vehicles
Since the 1990s, overloaded vehicles on the roads have become a serious problem in China,
particularly for having caused many traffic accidents. In 2004, the Ministry of Transportation and theMinistry of Public Security proposed a variety of measures regarding policies, economy, law
enforcement and propaganda and education. These measures proved to be effective with theoverloaded vehicle rate decreasing significantly.
Principles:

1) Propose both short- and long-term measures to prohibit overloaded vehicles.
2) Carry out a nationwide campaign to implement the measures and strengthen coordination among25

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different departments and regions.
3) Reasonably consider the freight transport market’s level of acceptance.
4) Conduct propaganda in advance and then carry implementation of the measure forward.



Goal:

Create a healthy, standardized, fair, and orderly transport market. In about one year’s time,effectively reduce the number of overloaded and oversized vehicles on the road; in three years,
basically eliminate the overloaded and oversized vehicles, establish a reasonable pricing system andbuild an open, fair and healthy market.


Actions:

1) Conduct large-scale propaganda.
2) Prohibit illegal reconfiguration of the vehicles.
3) Prohibit overloaded vehicles.
4) Take economic measures to balance the relationship between cost of transportation and benefit ofoverloading.
5) Promote an orderly transport market.

The following criteria were used to decide whether a vehicle was overloaded:
1) For two-axle vehicles, the total weight of vehicle and freight was over 20 tons;
2) For three-axle vehicles, the total weight of vehicle and freight was over 30 tons;
3) For four-axle vehicles, the total weight of vehicle and freight was over 40 tons;
4) For five-axle vehicles, the total weight of vehicle and freight was over 50 tons;
5) For vehicles with six or more axles, the total weight of vehicle and freight was over 55 tons;
6) The total weight of vehicle and freight was more than permitted on the license of transport.



Results:

Between 2004 and 2007, the transport market witnessed the following results:
1) The number of overloaded vehicles declined dramatically. The overloaded vehicle rate decreased
from 80% to less than 10%. In Beijing and many other cities, the rate was brought below 3%.
2) Road traffic safety improved. Although the total number of motor vehicles increased by 15%
annually, the accident rate decreased by about 15% per annum. The number of accidents caused

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by freight vehicles was reduced significantly.
3) The production and reconfiguration of motor vehicles was further standardized.
4) Road infrastructure was protected and road quality improved. The mitigation of overloaded vehicle
damage to highways and bridges reduced the economic losses by 16 billion yuan every year.
5) Highway capacity increased and the average operational speed of freight vehicles rose by 20%.
6) The number of multi-axle and large-tonnage freight vehicles increased continuously. In 2006, thesales of heavy trucks reached 0.28 million, climbing by 15% from 2005. In the first half of 2007,
the rate even surpassed 60%.
In October 2007, nine ministries of the State Council issued the Notice of Long-Term Measures to
Reduce Overloaded Vehicles, which proposed the creation of a long-tem mechanism to reduceoverloaded vehicles over the subsequent three years.

(2) Transport of Dangerous Goods
Traffic accidents involving vehicles transporting dangerous goods pose enormous risks, including
endangerment of people’s lives and contamination of the environment. To counter these risks, theMinistry of Transport released three national and industry standards: the Rules on Transport ofDangerous Goods, the Regulations of Transport and Loading of Dangerous Goods, and the Symbol ofMotor Vehicles Transporting Dangerous Goods. Personnel in charge of the transport of dangerous
goods are required to be trained and assessed for their qualifications. Businesses with an incomplete
safety system, motor vehicles not meeting the technical requirements, and unqualified personnel are
not allowed to transport dangerous goods.
The Ministry of Transportation and related departments carried out nationwide inspections targeting
dangerous goods transportation five times, resulting in revocation of the operating licenses of 25,186
unqualified transport corporations. As of April 2006, there were 6,038 corporations qualified fortransporting dangerous goods, with 130,478 certified motor vehicles and 0.35 million licensed employees.

2.6 Improvement of Motor Vehicle Performance(1) Prohibit production and sale of substandard counterfeit motor vehicle parts
On December 2003, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Public Security, and some otherministries issued the Notice on Management of Motor Vehicle Market, which requires that illegal
production and sale of counterfeit vehicle parts be prohibited and punished according to the relevantlaws and regulations.

(2) Adjustment of the composition of motor vehicle types
The Ministry of Transportation promoted the evaluation system for operational passenger vehicles to
upgrade the passenger vehicles on the roads. The toll for large-tonnage vehicles and27

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container-transport vehicles was lowered. The composition of freight vehicle types was adjusted toreduce energy consumption and improve transport efficiency and safety.

(3) Vehicle inspection
On February 2006, the National Quality Inspection and Quarantine issued the Regulation on the Safety
Inspection Agencies of Motor Vehicles, which took effect in the following May. The aim of theregulation is to supervise the motor vehicle inspection agencies to ensure the authenticity of theinspection results.

(4) Management of vehicles used for agricultural purposes
On October 2007, the Ministry of Agriculture issued the Proposal on Strengthening the Supervision of
Vehicles for Agricultural Purposes. This is aimed at improving the technical skills of drivers ofvehicles for agriculture purposes, enhancing the mechanical safety of agricultural machines, andincreasing the registration rate of agricultural vehicles.

(5) Establishment of the China New Car Assessment Program (C-NCAP)The China New Car Assessment Program was established by the China Automobile TechnicalResearch Center. Every year, the center selects candidate car models for assessment through a batteryof tests, including fuel consumption and crash tests. The results are released to the public to guideconsumers’ choices. The program operates under rigorous assessment rules, and assigns each car
model examined a star rating based on the testing results, with 5+ being the highest and 1 the lowest. It
provides consumers with useful information and encourages car manufacturers to design and produce
cars with higher safety standards. As a result, the program has the potential to reduce both theincidence of traffic accidents and the damage they cause.

(6) Establishment of a defective car recall system
On March 2004, the National Quality Inspection and Quarantine, the National Commission of
Development and Reform, the Ministry of Commerce, and the General Administration of Customs
jointly issued the Regulation on Recall Management of Defective Motor Vehicles to establish a recall
system for defective motor vehicles in China. Since 2004 about 3.2 million motor vehicles wererecalled due to potential safety defects.

2.7 Improvement of Road Infrastructure(1) Highway Safety Enhancement ProjectIn December 2003, the Ministry of Public Security and the National Safety Supervision Bureau urged
the improvement of dangerous highway segments. In 2004, the Ministry of Transportation launched athree-year Highway Safety Enhancement Project, and expanded the program in 2007 to include county
and rural roads. Between 2004 and 2006, the investment in the program reached 9.01 billion yuan.

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Approximately 278,000 road segments with a cumulative length of 83,000 kilometers were improved.
In 2007 and 2008, a further 4.85 billion yuan was invested into the program to improve 163,000 roadsegments totaling 55,000 kilometers in length. As a result, the program has effectively enhanced
highway safety. Furthermore, in 2007, the Technical Research of China’s Road Safety Program
received the second-place award of the European Road Safety Prize bestowed by the International
Road Federation (IRF).

(2) Reconstruction of dangerous bridges
At the end of 2009, there were 621,900 highway bridges in China, most of which were constructed in
the preceding two decades. Some bridges had become dangerous due to aging, structural damage andthe relatively low design standards of the past. Improving the safety of these bridges was made the
top-priority mission of road safety authorities. Between 2001 and 2005, the Ministry of Transportation
invested 1.5 billion yuan to reconstruct 7,000 dangerous bridges, and issued the new Highway Bridge
Maintenance Regulations to require highway administrative agencies to inspect and assess bridge
conditions on a regular basis. In 2007, the Ministry of Transportation decided to further its efforts bysetting the goal of basically completing, in the three years from 2008 to 2010, the reconstruction of all
dangerous bridges on national and provincial highways, as well as important ones on county and ruralroads.

2.8 Emergency Management(1) Forecast of severe weather conditions
Road traffic safety can be greatly affected by adverse weather conditions (such as fog, snowstorms andtorrential rain) and natural disasters (such as mud-rock flows and landslides in mountainous areas, andfloods). On July 2005, the Ministry of Transportation and the Bureau of Weather Forecast signed amemorandum pledging to jointly carry out highway weather forecasts. According to the memorandum,
relevant weather information would be released in advance based on rain forecasts in the rainy season
and inspection of fog conditions along the highways. The relevant emergency response, information
feedback and evaluation mechanisms were established.
On January 2007, the Ministry of Public Security and the Bureau of Weather Forecast issued the
Notice of Establishing a Road Traffic Weather Information Exchange and Release System, which
requires weather forecast agencies and public security agencies to: share information on road traffic
and weather; establish a channel for information exchange; and create a system for broadcasting
advisories, traffic management information and travel safety information via media such as television,
the Internet, short message services and display screens.

(2) Pre-planning for emergencies
Since 2003, public security agencies have been establishing plans for emergencies of different levels
based on different road traffic situations. To date, all provinces, 97.9% of all cities and 92.8% of all29

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counties have established about 1,813 plans for traffic management during emergencies to reduce theadverse impact of severe weather and unexpected incidents. The Ministry of Public Security
formulated the a plan for freeway emergency rescue, established an emergency rescue team consistingof mainly firefighters and police officers, and promoted coordination and cooperation among different
departments. In 2008, 25,000 traffic accident victims were saved due to prompt rescue. Transportation
agencies established the ministerial and provincial highway network emergency management platform
for the network supervision and traffic information broadcasting.

2.9 Traffic Safety Propaganda and Education
From October 2004 to February 2005, the Ministry of Public Security conducted nationwide traffic
safety awareness campaign themed “Care for your life and have a safe trip.” Traffic safety propaganda
and education were positioned as key measures for preventing road traffic accidents.
In April 2006, the Ministry of Propaganda, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Education,
the Ministry of Law, and the Bureau of Safety Production Supervision decided to conduct thenationwide propaganda and education project “Protect life and have a safe trip” from 2006 to 2008.
The goal of the three-year effort was to: formulate a mechanism for traffic safety propaganda
involving various departments, including public security, education, law administration and safety
supervision at the provincial, city and county levels; carry out propaganda in rural areas, communities,businesses, schools and homes; reduce significantly traffic violations such as unlicensed driving,
fatigue driving, speeding, overloading, drunk driving and so on. The project for 2006 was themed“Pay attention to the traffic and protect people’s lives” and was mostly targeted at conducting
propaganda and education on road traffic safety laws and regulations, and on basic safety knowledge.
In 2007, an “Obey the law anytime anywhere” project was implemented to focus mainly on deterring
traffic violations and creating a safe, convenient and sustainable traffic environment. The project for2008 was “Welcome the Beijing Olympics and be civilized,” which promoted civilized and safe roadtravel under the circumstances of the Beijing Olympic Games.

2.10 Traffic Safety Technology
In order to reduce the trend of increasing accidents and provide technical support to road safety
improvement in China, the Ministry of Transportation organized and carried out a series of basic
studies on traffic safety, and then applied the findings to road safety improvement. In 2004, the“Highway Traffic Safety Technology Research” project was conducted to solve the most significant
technology issues at that time and to develop safety design methods for improving road traffic safety.
The project focused on the following technical needs in China:
Research for creating a highway safety manual

Highway safety database technology



Safety technology for roads with long, steep slopes

30Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in China (1950-2010)

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

Safety technology for fog areas on freeways

Development and testing of highway protective facilities



Formulation of methods for roadside safety evaluation and protection

Safety analysis of highway tunnel entrances

Safety analysis of tourist highways in forested areasIntersection safety improvement technology

Improvement of sign legibility and the effectiveness of supporting facilities



Import of foreign standards and specifications

Development of test standards and regulations for highway traffic engineering projects

Establishment of traffic management information system standards for highways in western
China

On February 2008, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Public Security and theMinistry of Transportation launched a program entitled “Science and Technology Action Program for
National Road Traffic Safety.” This program integrated the resources of the Ministry of Transportationand the Ministry of Public Security for the first time and established a mechanism for data andresource sharing. As the largest cooperative program for road traffic safety in China, its goal was toimprove road accident prevention, advance warning and emergency rescue for road traffic accidents
and effectively prevent severe traffic accidents causing more than ten fatalities. The key technology
research and demonstration projects are listed below.
Intervention technology for road users, including behavioral analysis or road users,
supervision and prevention of risky behavior, abnormal behavior identification and advancewarning, driver adaption to the environment and so on.

Vehicle safety and transportation operational technology, including vehicle surveillance,
overloading control, active and passive safety technology for vehicles, supervision ofdangerous goods transportation and so on.

Road infrastructure safety technology, including safety design, operation and evaluation ofroad infrastructure, surveillance, advance warning and improvement of bridges and tunnels,
and surveillance of traffic operations under severe weather conditions.

Road traffic management and safety technology, including the handling of traffic accidents,
emergency management, traffic information broadcasting, traffic guidance on dangerous roadsegment, traffic operations under abnormal conditions, traffic accident analysis,
identification of restricted vehicles and information exchange and control.

Following the launch of this program, a task force consisting of senior experts decided that the firstphase would focus on implementation of the “Severe Road Traffic Accident Prevention and Treatment
Technology Development” project to target the following key technologies:

Traffic Safety information integration and analysis platformSafety technology for highway networks in mountainous areasFreeway safety technology

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

Commercial vehicle safety technology

Human behavior and traffic safetyRegional highway network safety surveillance and evaluation, and emergency management

Road traffic law enforcement technology

The project seeks to develop a mountain highway safety system that will reduce traffic accidents by 30%
and severe traffic accidents by 50% on the demonstration highway segments. Also, a freeway safetysystem is being created to realize traffic guidance and weather services over distances longer than 100
km and with response times less than 15 minutes. At the same time, the project is developing a traffic
law enforcement and emergency management system covering more than 1,000 km, and an interactive
long-distance traffic safety education system.
Using existing databases of the public security and transportation departments, the project team isconducting research on a mechanism for data sharing and exchange, designing a traffic safety sharing
and exchange system, and developing a traffic safety analysis and decision support system for theaiding the formulation of policies, laws, regulations and safety measures.
It is expected that implementation of the first phase of the project will lead to annual decreases in thenumber of traffic accident fatalities, bringing the fatality rate per 10,000 vehicles close to the level ofdeveloped countries.

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References:1.

http://www.stats.gov.cn

2.

China Road Traffic Accident Statistics Yearbook 2004-2010

3.

The Blue Book of Road Safety in China 2010, Science Research Department of Ministry ofTransportation, China Communications Press, 2010.8

Author:Dr. Hongmei Zhou
Assistant Professor,
School of Transportation and Logistics,
Dalian University of Technology, China
Dr. Hongmei Zhou is an Assistant Professor in the School of Transportation and Logistics at Dalian
University of Technology (DUT), China. She earned her PhD in Transportation and Urban
Engineering from the University of Connecticut in the United States in 2009. She is a member of theInstitute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and the Transportation Research Board (TRB), and has
served as a paper reviewer for the TRB Annual Meeting and the IEEE Vehicular Technology
Conference. Her research interests focus on traffic safety, transportation planning and management,
and intelligent transportation system (ITS).

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