CRI听力:Chinese Style Jaywalking

Jaywalking is a very popular offense in China committed everyday by countless pedestrians and cyclists. In fact, Jaywalking is referred to by Chinese net users as 'Chinese style jaywalking'. The term specifically describes this dangerous phenomenon in China.

The most popular styles of jaywalking in China include crossing busy roads at places you shouldn't and crossing the road during a red light. Chinese Style Jaywalking tends to be a group activity, with many pedestrians feeling more confident to violate the high cross code when in large crowds.

In defense of the pedestrians, crossing the road in China is no easy feat. This is largely due to cars being allowed to right turn at junctions, on busy roads which leads to the pedestrians having no actual 'safe time' to cross the road. The severity of this issue is escalated in large cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.

I asked a couple of pedestrians in Beijing if and why they jaywalk.

"I do not usually cross the road at a red light but I see a lot of people doing this everyday; they do it because they don't understand the traffic code. "

"I sometimes cross during a red light if I am in a rush."

"I cross at a red light if there are no cars nearby; if there are no cars then I don't think it is a big deal."

The Chinese Government has imposed a fine on jaywalkers but so far the results have been as miniscule as the fine itself, which are only 10 RMB for pedestrians and 20 RMB for cyclists. Jaywalking was originally outlawed in 2004; however the severity of the situation has been outlined by officials during the course of 2013.

A slightly more successful approach that China has adopted to tackle this problem is the utilization of over line bridges. These can be found all over China. There are however, many locations in Beijing that would also benefit from over line bridges, which have yet to see them installed.

I caught up with former Beijing Radio Station Traffic broadcaster Xiao Hang to talk about what can be done to resolve this problem.

"Resolving the problem will need to be a gradual process in which people become accustomed to not Jaywalking. It would be a good idea for more over line bridges to be built closer to red lights. Pedestrians in China need longer green lights. Although there are a lot of traffic wardens in Beijing I think more focus should be put on educating the public in the importance of traffic laws."

As far as the rest of the world is concerned there are many mixed national policies on jaywalking. In the United States there are serious consequences for defying the traffic warden; the fine in New York City for jaywalking is 50 US dollars and in Los Angeles it's a staggering 190 dollars. In Europe however, the rules and regulations are not as strict. There is no actual fine to manage the system people cross the road in the United Kingdom and although there is a 4 euro fine in France it is not strongly enforced.