Stopping for yellow rule has angry drivers seeing red
Source: Agencies |
January 3, 2013, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
DRIVERS in China have been getting angry over a new crackdown on running through intersections when traffic lights are at yellow.
While announcing new rules in October that double the penalties for traffic light violations, officials also stressed that running a yellow light will now be considered the equivalent of running a red one.
Drivers accustomed to considering the yellow light a warning and the red light an imperative have been left confused, wondering how they can stop suddenly for a yellow light.
In an online comment, Xinhua news agency cited pioneering physicist Isaac Newton on the difficulty of stopping the momentum of something in motion, saying the new rules are "unreasonable and contrary to Newton's first law."
Police must enforce the new guidelines on stopping on both red and yellow to protect people's safety, Li Qing, an official from the Ministry of Public Security's traffic administration, said in an interview on China Central Television.
Under the new rules that came into effect on Tuesday, penalties for traffic light violations doubled to six points on a 12-point scale that results in losing a license.
If your vehicle is already partly over the line when the light changes from green to yellow, you may continue. Otherwise, you must stop, Li said.
In some cities, some traffic lights count down the seconds until the color changes, but this isn't always the case.
The new rules sparked outrage online from irate drivers, who complained of the dangers of stopping short in front of other drivers or the inconvenience of always having to slow down when approaching intersections.
In an online comment forwarded more than 23,000 times, one driver wrote that he had smashed into the back of a car that had suddenly stopped for a yellow light.
"I would like to say whoever made this yellow light rule must be stupid and evil. Everybody, when you are 1 kilometer away from the lights start to slow down ... I wish you the best of luck," wrote Beijing-based Sun Yixuan.
"Netizens say it is difficult to stop on a yellow light. If you reduce your speed to very slow as you come up to the junction, this leads to unbearable traffic congestion," Xinhua said.
While announcing new rules in October that double the penalties for traffic light violations, officials also stressed that running a yellow light will now be considered the equivalent of running a red one.
Drivers accustomed to considering the yellow light a warning and the red light an imperative have been left confused, wondering how they can stop suddenly for a yellow light.
In an online comment, Xinhua news agency cited pioneering physicist Isaac Newton on the difficulty of stopping the momentum of something in motion, saying the new rules are "unreasonable and contrary to Newton's first law."
Police must enforce the new guidelines on stopping on both red and yellow to protect people's safety, Li Qing, an official from the Ministry of Public Security's traffic administration, said in an interview on China Central Television.
Under the new rules that came into effect on Tuesday, penalties for traffic light violations doubled to six points on a 12-point scale that results in losing a license.
If your vehicle is already partly over the line when the light changes from green to yellow, you may continue. Otherwise, you must stop, Li said.
In some cities, some traffic lights count down the seconds until the color changes, but this isn't always the case.
The new rules sparked outrage online from irate drivers, who complained of the dangers of stopping short in front of other drivers or the inconvenience of always having to slow down when approaching intersections.
In an online comment forwarded more than 23,000 times, one driver wrote that he had smashed into the back of a car that had suddenly stopped for a yellow light.
"I would like to say whoever made this yellow light rule must be stupid and evil. Everybody, when you are 1 kilometer away from the lights start to slow down ... I wish you the best of luck," wrote Beijing-based Sun Yixuan.
"Netizens say it is difficult to stop on a yellow light. If you reduce your speed to very slow as you come up to the junction, this leads to unbearable traffic congestion," Xinhua said.
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