Accidents Down 30% After Shanghai Traffic Crackdown

By Isabella Farr, April 27, 2016

After one month of Shanghai's enthusiastic official campaign to reduce traffic congestion, police say that the crackdown is working. With police on almost every street corner stopping motorbikes, controlling traffic and directing pedestrians, it is easy to see why Shanghai residents have started to follow the law.

According to Shanghai Daily, Shanghai police have recorded that since the implementation of the crackdown, they have issued twice as many tickets for traffic violations as they had this time last year. The number of traffic accidents has also dropped this month, with accidents dropping 30 percent from last year in Pudong alone.

Shanghai police maintain that this is a measure of effectiveness, as usually the number of accidents increases as more cars hit the road. In a statement on Monday, police also said that they had dealt with over 1.43 million traffic offenses this month. This is an 117 percent increase from last year, suggesting that police have become more effective in addressing and recording incidents. These "records" might entail publishing photos online of pedestrians jaywalking, according to SCMP.

In the first weekend of the campaign alone, over 40,000 motorists, cyclists and pedestrians were dealt big fines for running red lights, driving without a license and driving in the wrong direction. Shanghai locals were not the only ones targeted, as multiple foreigners were caught breaking traffic laws across Shanghai.

Although the campaign has resulted in such a dramatic increase in reported incidents and improved driver compliance, it is unclear whether or not the campaign is fulfilling its original goal of reducing traffic congestion. Shanghai local Nan Zhao told That's Shanghai, "I think Shanghai traffic is much better than before. But due to the large number of citizens here and the people coming to this city, the traffic is still a problem."

[Image via CBS News]