I think this is great. I have been hit twice (minor) by electric bikes running on sidewalks. I hope this 100 day "crackdown" is just a lead in to long term enforcement.

Maybe I am just dreaming here, but maybe someday all the traffic laws will be enforced here. Kunming has the worst disobedience caused traffic chaos I have seen in China. (Except for Qujing. There are massive roads and less cars there so I don't count Qujing as a major problem. Don't bother with your horn there, no one will ever look.) I wish everyone would see the big picture driving here. If you follow the laws, everyone can move faster and crash less because the person in front of you will drive more predictably.

Sounds like a pipe dream, huh?

What is the purpose of the govt covering up the traffic accident stats anyway? If more people were aware of just how many people are killed/injured in traffic accidents, that may influence their habits.

And yes, in Chinese law, the car behind is ALWAYS at fault in an accident. Doesn't matter that he ran a light, cut you off, and turned onto your lane. If you hit him, you pay on the spot. If ANY vehicle hits a pedestrian, the vehicle is always at fault. The law is based on the size of the vehicle, nothing to do with the cause of the accident. So pedestrians are free to do what they like. The only thing that keeps them slightly at bay is that many accidents turn into hit and runs since most drivers are illegal and won't stop if they hit someone.

As a sidenote, if you attempt to render aid to someone for any reason, you have automatically accepted responsibility for their complete recovery. That includes all expenses as well. Think about that the next time you see someone hurt and needs help.

Yeah I think the reasons behind the ban given on the radio were simply an increase in accidents and road deaths in the last 5 years. So regardless of whether this is a ban, new fining system, or whatever, you HAVE to ask yourself whats changed the most in the last 5 years- the number of cars on the roads or the number of 2 wheeled vehicles? (Cars) AND which of those two are much more likely to cause fatalities? (CARS). I think a Kunming government official may have his panties in a bunch about his increasingly long commute in his spanky benz...

Correct LuJingLin......... see my first post here.

I'm all for better enforcement for cars, but let's face it, the electric bike craziness is out of control. It's not a ban, it's cops at the intersection fining people for taking their whole families on a tiny bike, riding at a young age, running traffic lights and plowing through pedestrian zones. I'm not sure why people are so against that.

^I don't feel like re-reading to see what other people said, but I know that I am personally not against that. What people are against is not simultaneously cracking down on cars, which are guilty of running red lights, entering intersections with no clear exit plan and getting stuck in the middle when the light changes, driving in bike lanes, parking in idiotic places, not using turn signals, opening doors without checking for oncoming bike traffic, cutting off other drivers and cyclists, using horns to excess, and generally being self-centered and otherwise stupid.

"As a sidenote, if you attempt to render aid to someone for any reason, you have automatically accepted responsibility for their complete recovery. That includes all expenses as well. Think about that the next time you see someone hurt and needs help." -Bucko

Sorry Bucko,, just because there was one high profile case about a guy who (supposedly) wasn't the purp and now some Chinese people belive that's the law doesn't MAKE it the law. I understand why you find it absolutely disgusting ofcourse that it can happen in such a Harmonious Society but hospital bills can easily run into 6 digits if you are seriously hurt and people just can't pay this kind of money (odd,, I always thought that in a communist society hospital and healthcare would be free) then there will be a few desperate people who will try anything to get away clean.

I am not really disagreeing with you in your indignation but it's still not a law as such. Something even more scary: The countless of cases where traffic offenders had to kill off the injured part on the scene by driving over them again. How sick is that?!. There is a limit for compensation when it comes to death whereas hospital bills, injury compensation and possible comp for lost ability to work or indefinate future care can easily run into the millions. Mao would be rotating in his grave if he knew some of the things going on.

I don't know about the "high profile" case you mention, but I do know personally of this happening to a good friend of mine here in Kunming.

My friend is an administrator for a local hospital. He witnesses a car accident in the ring road, and stopped to help the injured man. The police arrived shortly after and immediately arrested him and impounded his car. They charged him with causing the accident on the grounds that he did stop on the scene making him responsible for the accident. It took him a lot of time (several months) and large expense to clear himself of the charges. In the meantime the police kept his car and license. All this trouble for simply trying to help a poor fellow seriously injured by driving drunk and running his car off the highway! So, law or not, it is the position taken by the authorities.

I'm not surprised by the stories of killing off the victims, sick as that may be. Still, the best rule is to stay away from getting involved in any of these matters or you can find yourself in a lot of trouble.