WHEN a jaywalker is caught in the act by traffic police, how does he or she usually react?

If denial doesn't work, then the tactic favored by many in China is to simply point in their defense to other jaywalkers doing the same thing. As they do so, they are confident in the exculpatory Chinese saying that the masses aren't liable for punishment.

And since singling out a jaywalker is considered unfair if others go scot-free, it would be wise for the police to let the individual offender off the hook.

Diffident individual jaywalkers are therefore encouraged because they feel more secure in numbers.

It is common to see Chinese pedestrians follow suit after their patience wears thin and someone crosses against a red light first.

Collective violation of traffic rules, led by a first rule-breaker, has given rise to a buzzword "crossing the street with Chinese characteristics."

Lately Beijing police are cracking down on the perennial jaywalking scourge. While the crackdown has achieved some results, the police encountered considerable obstructionism in the course of performing their duty.

Jaywalkers caught red-handed are nonchalant, glib and audacious in trying to avoid penalties.

For instance, it is reported that when a Beijing policeman stopped an old lady jaywalking and reprimanded her, she snapped back, asking "how many hundred meters can a person walk in life? If I had to detour a few hundred meters (to make a crossing) every day, a chunk of my time would be wasted!"

With the tables turned on him, the officer was speechless.

Also in Beijing, two cyclists stopped for running a red light just walked away in plain sight of the stunned policeman, leaving their bikes behind as if they were bail money; in another case, a suited, decent-looking jaywalker told a policeman he only had 10 yuan, half of the 20 yuan (US$3.20) fine, and challenged the officer to admonish him longer than to make up for the 10 yuan shortfall.

In most cases, officers are pestered with all forms of civil disobedience until they drop the idea of fining jaywalkers, equipped with an arsenal of justifications.

One of the most common excuses is that pedestrians wait longer at red lights than motorists, and standing waiting exposes them to hazardous vehicle exhaust.

This rationale sounds plausible. Given my own observation, it's true that the pedestrian traffic lights at some major intersections in Shanghai, once they turn from red to green, are immediately on a less-than-30-second countdown, forcing pedestrians to scurry across a wide road.

For slow-moving senior citizens, crossing the street becomes a cruel test of fitness. If they don't make it across in time, they are terrorized by onrushing traffic and a din of car horns.

According to Western research, British pedestrians' patience at a red light is 45 to 60 seconds, while Germans can endure a maximum 60 seconds.

The findings of behavioral scientists reveal that after a minute, average pedestrians seem to reach the limit of their patience and jaywalking becomes a tantalizing possibility.

By comparison, people in China are actually more patient than meet the eye, according to research by Tongji University scientists.

A survey of pedestrians in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, a city known for its leisurely pace of life, suggests they can wait for as long as 90 seconds.

Road civility

So accusations that Chinese jaywalker are uncouth rule-breakers may be a bit arbitrary, given the fact that many cities' traffic lights are indeed not too pedestrian-friendly and need to be re-timed. This point is made regularly in ongoing discussions about road civility. But what many seem to forget is that road civility doesn't only concern drivers, but pedestrians as well.

During my three-month stay in Hamburg last year, when media coverage of the jaywalking problem back home spiked, I noticed that comparisons were drawn between patient Germans and impatient Chinese by the domestic press, overflowing with usual admiration for Teutonic affection for order and authority.

My own observation led me to rethink the positive stereotypes about Germans as born sticklers about laws.

While most Germans do behave that way, sometimes too rigidly to allow for slight flexibility in the eyes of an outsider, their conformity is a product of perhaps both moral indoctrination and legal restraint.

Dearly costs

The price for getting caught while jaywalking in a city like Hamburg is a fine of about 10 euros (US$13), a deterrent to keep offenders at bay. And no fool would plead with a stern German police officer for a slap on the wrist, for it is futile.

Besides, in a country with a serious social trust system, being caught once for jaywalking could beget trouble in collecting welfare benefits and obtaining cheap bank loans. The costs are dearly.

China is still at an early stage of constructing a system of its own.

Commentators have wondered if it is scarcity of certain resources that drives Chinese to vie for them, for instance, jaywalkers competing for the right of way with vehicles, and passengers fighting over a seat in the metro, as though they take great pride in beating others to it.

During a recent lunch break when I described my experience in Germany that seemed to confirm the view of the naturally vicious struggle for resources in China, a colleague pointed out that even in more densely populated Tokyo, there is no such jousting.

Japanese seem more considerate of others than of their own selfish desires, he said, which is a fair observation.

I was also reminded by a colleague who described the incredible order in which Londoners retreated to safety in underground shelters during German air raids in World War II. No chaos, no frenzy, no pushing and jostling.

This begs the question: If others can retain composure and courtesy under fire, why are we Chinese so unruly and impatient in peace time?

The frequent sight of whistle-blowing traffic coordinators in khaki uniforms pointlessly warning oblivious jaywalkers has prompted calls for more police intervention, but there are far from enough traffic officers for so many intersections.

If appealing to good nature and civic virtue is unsuccessful, we might try to scare them - they jaywalk at their own peril.

Some people have suggested posting more warning signs, casualties and even pictures of traffic accidents involving pedestrians.

Recently in Chongqing Municipality, some performance and installation artists placed mannikins swathed in bandages and a host of white crosses at busy intersections - signifying the toll of jaywalking. Perhaps only the impact of something very unpleasant will make some of us wait for the light to turn green.