The street to the east of my apartment building in Beijing was once a quiet
one. Even though it had six lanes, it led to nowhere, stopping short of the
northern Fourth Ring Road.
For a few years, residents of apartment buildings on the eastern side of the
street found it very convenient to cross it right at the gate to our apartment
compound to shop at the big supermarket on the west. Traffic was light and slow.
The tranquility broke in early August. Then, an overpass was completed,
flying over the ring road and linking the street - Huixin Xijie - with Beiyuan
Street.
Vehicles, from heavy-duty trucks to sedans, began to roar down the fly-over
onto Huixin Xijie, which leads to the northern Third Ring Road.
As a local resident, I once marvelled at the urban planners' thoughtfulness
in having a pedestrian bridge built over Huixin Xijie earlier, and erecting a
demarcation belt with a safety-wire fence in the middle of the now busier
thoroughfare.
Residents on the other side of the street can still come and shop via the
pedestrian flyover, with one footpath leading right into the supermarket.
Then one day, I was aghast to find one block of the safety-wire fence gone,
and people crossing the busy street heedless of the pedestrian overpass just a
few strides away. The street has become noisier, as more cars honk their horns
and sounds of tires tearing become more frequent.
Above all, those who want to save only a few minutes and a little "trouble"
are risking their lives.
So far, no one has been killed or injured by going through the broken fence.
But deaths have occurred in similar circumstances along railway lines and
expressways - not only in Beijing, but also in other cities, where people break
off safety fences and take chances crossing the rails or expressways.
When deaths do occur, media usually rush to publicize the gory details or
spell out the amount of compensation.
There is also finger-pointing at drivers who drive too fast or at urban
construction workers who do not keep watchful eyes and mend the fences in time
to prevent tragedies. And there are people who come out to defend the dead, most
of whom are among the rural poor.
But a farmer-turned-taxi driver once told me that he grew up hearing his
parents constantly warn him not to walk in the middle of the street or the road
where there were motor vehicles.
Pedestrians may have reason to argue that motor vehicles have not followed
the rules to respect them when drivers shoot through pedestrian crossings.
I believe that amidst the deaths, impairing of public works or debates over
the legalities, our media, our public education system and the whole society
have not done enough to instil in every member of the public our civic duty to
value the own lives, respect each other and follow the social norm as far as
traffic is concerned.
Social pressure is lacking upon the people who disrespect the lives of others
and themselves. To build up such social pressure, the public works people should
erect bigger and more glaring signs where safety fences are constantly broken,
to urge people to be protective of their own lives. They need to be more
watchful and mend the fences before tragedy occurs.
Traffic regulations and normal behaviour in a social and traffic setting
should become part of the social ethics curricula within the compulsory
education system - not only in cities, but also in rural areas.
Only in this way can our youngsters from every corner of the country learn
early on the value of life and their civic duty as well as the proper dos and
don'ts as drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
Email: lixing@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily 09/28/2006 page4)
