Yellow light rule puts drivers on edge

(Ecns.cn) -- A revised regulation that bans China's drivers from running yellow lights is adding further confusion to an already chaotic traffic environment.

For decades, many motorists would often accelerate and blow through an intersection after seeing a light turn yellow; now they must stop completely.

The regulation has many seeing red, especially now that drivers who violate the rule twice must give up their licenses, retake road training and pass a written exam.

Although the authorities designed it to improve road safety and relieve traffic congestion, many drivers say the rule, which went into effect on New Year's Day, is "unscientific" and increases the possibility of rear-end collisions.

According to an online survey conducted by news portal Dahe.cn, 72.7 percent of the 174,000 participants think accidents are now more likely to happen. Only 15.4 percent support the new rule, while 11.9 percent are undecided.

One veteran driver decided to do the math: it takes him at least 0.7 seconds to slam on the brakes after seeing a light turn yellow, which is equal to 7.78 meters of distance if the car is moving at 40 km/h. It then takes about 7.5 meters for the car to screech to a halt, he found.

"If the driver behind me fails to react immediately, an accident is very likely to happen," he says.

Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, reported a four-car pileup earlier this week caused by a vehicle abruptly stopping at a yellow light.

One concerned web user has raised the question of whiplash, arguing that children's necks in particular could suffer from frequent jolting stops at yellow lights. Other netizens have expressed similar misgivings; they say there should be conditions in which drivers are allowed to run yellow lights without being penalized.

But the Ministry of Public Security has a different opinion. It said Thursday on its official website that the new traffic regulation had functioned well in preventing road accidents and congestion. Citing official statistics, it said the number of traffic accidents with casualties had dropped 22 percent year-on-year in the first three days of 2013, and that the number of traffic violations had dropped by 66 percent.

In response to baffled drivers, the ministry told the People's Daily that the yellow light was originally designed to warn people to slow their vehicles to a stop, but that many motorists ignored that and sped up instead.

"The rule is an attempt to get motorists to develop good driving habits," said the ministry, adding that "those who are driving with a sense of responsibility will not fail to halt at yellow lights."

A coach from a driving school in central China's Henan Province agrees that good driving habits are desperately needed. He suggests that drivers should accelerate moderately when they see red lights about 50 meters ahead, but slow down when they see green lights.

"There is still room for improvement in the new traffic regulation," says Yu Lingyun, a professor at Tsinghua University's School of Law. "There is no doubt that all drivers need time before they respond to traffic light switches."

The authorities should give a more detailed explanation of "illegally running yellow lights" to clear up the doubts, he says.

Some drivers say they understand the intention of the regulation, but wish they could be warned sooner. However, police in some cities say the current camera system does not photograph drivers running yellow lights, so drivers don't have to be overcautious.