Running Yellow Lights Now Illegal in China

Protests sprung up over the last couple of days after new rules took effect January 1 in China making it illegal to drive through a yellow traffic light.

Aimed at reducing accident in major cities, the law is understandably unpopular with some members of the Chinese public, Bloomberg reports. Opponents say the rule will be impossible to enforce because drivers won’t have enough time to brake.

Penalties also grew steeper with the new traffic rule. Now, drivers face six demerit points for disobeying traffic signals where they previously stood to gather three. A suspension occurs after twelve accumulate, or only two run yellow lights.

A commentary published by the Chinese Communist Youth Party says the change is likely to make traffic worse because it will scare drivers into slowing down.

But on the other side of the argument, estimates suggest there are over 250,000 traffic-related deaths every year in China, which makes it the leading cause of death for people between ages 15 and 44 years old, according to the World Health Organization.

[Source: Bloomberg]