Beijing traffic police are now fining drivers RMB200 (USD29) if they fail to give way to pedestrians in marked crosswalks, Xinhua reports. The move comes after surveillance footage showing a woman being fatally struck by a vehicle in a crosswalk in Henan Province went viral earlier this month.
The new law is now being strictly enforced in Beijing. Violators will not only be fined, but they will be issued three demerit points. Any driver who loses 12 points will have to retake the driver’s license test.
Traffic officers and volunteers have been deployed to monitor 46 crosswalks around the capital. Drivers have been warned that they must yield to pedestrians at all crosswalks, even in the instance of a right turn.
In Beijing last year, 18 people were killed and 21 were injured after vehicles failed to give way to pedestrians in crosswalks.
[Image via Xinhua]
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