The Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China () is a

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

which was passed by the

Standing Committee of the National People's Congress The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC), the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. It exercises the powers of the NPC when it is not in s ...

of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

on October 28, 2003, promulgated by Decree No. 8 of the President of the PRC Hu Jintao, and took effect on May 1, 2004, on all parts of

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

(but not in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

which have their own judicial systems.) It is the

's first-ever law on road traffic safety, and was intended to address an alarmingly high traffic fatality rate, which is four or five times greater than other nations.

Background

The new law has a number of focus points: * Under the new law, when

accident An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not deliberately caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that the event may have been caused by Risk assessment, unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Many researchers, insurers ...

s occur between

pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, by wheelchair or with other mobility aids. Streets and roads often have a designated footpath for pedestrian traffic, called the '' sidewalk'' in North American English, the ''pavement'' in British En ...

s or non-motorised

vehicle A vehicle () is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered land vehicle, human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velo ...

s and motor vehicles, except for the case where the pedestrian or the non-motorised vehicle deliberately causes the incident, the motorist must always bear responsibility. Responsibility for the motorist is reduced if the pedestrian or non-motorised side violated traffic laws. * The new law enforces a

vehicle insurance Vehicle insurance (also known as car insurance, motor insurance, or auto insurance) is insurance for automobile, cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage or bo ...

system. Insurance on motor vehicles is now compulsory instead of voluntary. * It abolished a previous regulation which banned holders of driver's licences of the PRC driving rights on expressways until one year after they had held the licence. * Expressway

speed limit Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed, express ...

s were increased from 110 km/h to 120 km/h. * Even harsher penalties were put in place for drunk driving and driving by people who did not hold a valid driver's licence, or drove a vehicle without licence plates. * Cases where drivers were speeding 50% in excess of the applicable

will result in the revocation of the driver's licence. * The penalty for hit-and-run accidents is permanent revocation of one's driver's licence. * The pre-existing point system for penalties was integrated into the new law. * Penalties are now higher, from the former RMB 200 up to RMB 2000. Also, provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions can only enact specific penalties within the given range. Previously, the nationwide maximum penalty was RMB 200, but areas like

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and

Kunming Kunming is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China. The political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province, Kunming is also the seat of the provincial government. During World War II, Kunming was a Ch ...

had enacted laws mandating penalties in the thousands of RMB.

's own "implementation procedures" of the new traffic law was passed on October 22, 2004, after being the target of heavy controversy over the responsibilities of vehicle drivers and pedestrians, and a regulation limiting the lanes that can be used by novice drivers. These take effect on January 1, 2005. According to

Xinhua News Agency Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: ),J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. It is a ...

, "police officers are also reluctant to pull over drivers of military vehicles even if the drivers are breaking the law". According to the ''People's Daily'', Chinese army and police seized thousands of fake military license plates and IDs.

References

External links

中华人民共和国道路交通安全法 (Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China)

(English version) {{Transport in China Laws of China

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...