A POLICE officer surnamed Yuan stopped his motorcycle beside Huaihai Park when he noticed that the driver of a passing car was not wearing his seat belt. He ordered the car to pull over and asked Sheng Xinglong, the driver, to produce his driver's licence.

And that was when the shouting began.

Instead of handing over his licence to the police officer, Sheng got out of the car and started to argue loudly with Yuan. He claimed that the clutch in his vehicle had just broken and he had to loosen his seat belt in order to stop the car in time.

When Sheng realized that Yuan had to follow the new traffic by-law which imposes a monetary fine on non-buckled up drivers and front-seat passengers, he became angrier.

Sheng attempted to snatch his licence back tearing its plastic cover in the process and refused to sign the ticket.

By this time, a noisy crowd had gathered at the scene but when Yuan said: "If you keep acting like this, only jail will await you", the spectators fell completely silent.

No one expects to be imprisoned for not wearing a seat belt. Sheng certainly didn't. He quickly signed the ticket and disappeared.

Yuan said that similar scenes have been occurring ever since the new traffic by-law on seat belts came into force. However, "a backlash like this has never happened to me before," he said.

Seat belt ignored

The new national traffic safety laws, in force since May 1, are designed to achieve more regulated and efficient traffic arrangements but some of them require more publicity. The regulation requiring drivers and front-seat passengers to wear seat belts is largely being ignored.

Close observation of traffic this week revealed that 115 out of 167 front-seat passengers (68.9 per cent) had not fastened their seat belts and 10 passengers were only holding the seat belts across their chests. The streets surveyed included Huaihai Lu, Xizang Zhonglu and People's Square.

"Seat belts reduce the number and extent of injuries in accidents," said Zhou Jin of the Shanghai Traffic Police General Squad. "They really make a difference."

Statistics show that the combination of seat belts and air bags ensure 60 per cent more physical protection. Using seat belts alone drops the degree of protection to 43 per cent and using air bags alone to 18 per cent.

Zhou also pointed out that it was the driver's responsibility to inform their passngers and insist that they wear seat belts.

Although the by-law provides for a fine of up to 50 yuan (US$6.10), it is ambiguous about who should be fined - the driver or the passenger. The position should be clarified by an amendment in the next few weeks. Drivers are presently responsible for seeing that their passengers used seat belts based on the current law, Zhou said.

"I have seen passengers in my co-workers' taxis fined by the police, but I think the by-law itself is unclear on who should be responsible for not using seat belts," said Xu Baogeng, a taxi driver from the Shanghai Blue Union.

Individuals still try to avoid wearing seat belts, according to Jian Nianzhou, a taxi driver.

"It happens all the time that passengers reject suggestions to buckle up even when I tell them to. Some of them argue they have never seen the news on television. Others choose to take another cab instead. It is very difficult to cope with passengers like that," said Zhou.

Aggressive drivers

With a mixed traffic system dominant in most urban areas in China, the law is intended to protect pedestrians who are the most vulnerable users of roads. Although it has been indicated clearly that vehicles have to stop to allow pedestrians to cross the road at intersections, the reality is the opposite.

"I am aware that at least 85 per cent of vehicles are not giving pedestrians the priority required," said He Chunzhang, a Shanghai traffic assistant on Huangpi Nanlu.

He then complained that most drivers ignored his whistles as he tried to direct traffic. "They make their turns as long as the light is green, honking at the pedestrians who are crossing the street at the same time," He said. "The pedestrians, scared by the aggressive driving, would naturally give way without considering their own rights."

Both police officer Yuan and traffic assistant He emphasized that cab drivers were the major offenders in ignoring this regulation.

"Other pedestrians are abusing the traffic laws," said Zhu Shuipin, another traffic assistant.

"Jaywalkers," Zhu said, "often excused themselves for not paying attention to the red light, because they say they have their own 'priorities', which completely distorts the essence of the regulations."

Serious drunk driving

Another emphasis of the new regulations covers drink-driving. The current prescribed Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limit in China is 0.03. The physical effects of alcohol on someone with a 0.03 BAC include "an increase in neural excitability and heart rate, a decrease in various brain centre functions, inconsistent effects on behavioural task performances, a decrease in judgement involving a mild sense of elation and pleasure," according to research undertaken by the US Oracle Education Foundation.

The new regulation imposes a fine ranging from 200 to 2,000 yuan (US$24.20 to US$242) based on the level of impairment of the driver. However, due to the diversified alcohol capacity of human bodies, the line between drunk driving and impaired driving appears to be ambiguous under the regulations.

"I found it tricky to distinguish between being impaired and being drunk," said one motorist named Guo Xiangtang. "I may only be impaired even after an entire bottle of China White, whereas one of my friends might only drink a beer before he is hopelessly drunk."

Police officer Yuan also pointed out that individual levels of consciousness varied widely after drinking.

"Since the fine has to be based on these two points, it's really hard to determine if the driver is drunk or just impaired when the Approved Screening Devices (a device that tests the alcohol level in the body) are not available," Yuan said.

Compared with the doubts raised in enforcing the new national regulation on drinking and driving in China, some developed countries have already devised more complete definitions. Canada, for example, defines anyone who operates or who has control of a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol or having a BAC above 0.08 as committing a very serious criminal offence.