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On April 6, the Jiaxing Intermediate Court in east China’s Zhejiang Province announced the final verdict on China’s first case of running a yellow traffic light. The runner lost the lawsuit. On April 10, the traffic authorities in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province, clearly expressed that people who run yellow lights will be punished as if they had run red lights. There are many debates on whether running yellow lights is illegal, while at the same time people wonder if Wuhan’s new traffic regulation itself is against the traffic law in the country.
Illegal
Guo Fenglei (Qilu Evening News): Although many people seem not to care about it, the risk of running a yellow light is no less than running a red light. It is found that, within seconds of a yellow light, cars and pedestrians from the other direction are preparing to move and it’s quite likely they will be hit by cars running the yellow light on the zebra crossing. Worse still, these cars always move at a very high speed, adding to the danger to pedestrians.
Zhang Kesheng (Yibin Evening News): The red light means “stop,” green light means“go” and yellow light means a warning for drivers and pedestrians from one direction to stop and those from the other direction to prepare to move. Cars need to decelerate at the sight of the yellow light, but if they have already passed the zebra crossing, they can keep on going. If you think the yellow light means “you can go,” then what does the green light mean? If running yellow lights is legal and everyone chooses to move at the yellow light, then the crossing will be a mess.
However, in reality, some drivers pay no attention to the yellow light. In their eyes, sometimes, the turning from the green light to the yellow light is a signal to encourage them to accelerate and as a result, the yellow light leads to many traffic accidents.
Fundamentally speaking, traffic problems are related to people’s awareness of traffic rules. As long as people always put “traffic safety” first, always obey traffic rules, never run yellow lights or red lights, many traffic accidents can be avoided. To discourage people from running yellow lights, we need to do more than just fine the offenders. The yellow light should also be on for at least 5 seconds. Education on traffic safety is also very important.
Zhang Qingyou (Yibin Evening News): The final verdict by the Jiaxing Intermediate Court in Zhejiang Province actually is a clear answer to drivers: running yellow lights will be punished. The yellow light is a transitional period to remind drivers and pedestrians of the change of the traffic light from red to green or vice versa. According to current traffic regulations, when the yellow light is on, cars that have already passed the stop line can keep going on while those behind the stop line should wait. A yellow light is not equal to a green light.
People should always pay attention to traffic rules to ensure their and also others’safety on the road, and to stop at the sight of a yellow light is an important rule to obey.
Li Kejie (Legal Daily): I praise the court’s final verdict. The final verdict by the Jiaxing Intermediate Court offers a clear answer to the drivers: They are not allowed to run yellow lights or red lights. The verdict is a good example for courts in the rest of the country. To some extent, Jiaxing’s verdict on China’s first “running yellow light” case can serve as a good example in the judicial system and also in traffic safety education.
The court made a proper explanation of the traffic rules in China: When the yellow light is on, cars that have passed the stop line can keep going, drivers are partly restricted from passing, and the purpose of the restriction is to ensure traffic safety.
Legal
Li Shicheng (Yibin Evening News): The decision by the traffic department in Wuhan to fine yellow light runners as severely as red light runners is groundless. I think this decision has violated relevant traffic regulations and may cause hidden danger.
According to China’s laws and regulations, we all know green lights mean “go”and red lights mean “stop,” while yellow lights are a kind of warning. When the traffic light turns yellow, it delivers a message: Those who have already passed the stop line can continue to move. Thus, Wuhan’s traffic regulations are going against the ba- sic traffic law.
Since the yellow light is set up, this light must have its own function. If those who run a yellow light are punished as if they had run a red light, what is the necessity of setting up a yellow light? A yellow light is a transitional period between green lights and red lights, warning drivers of the change from green to red, and thus drivers should prepare for it, so as to avoid car crashes caused by a sudden stop. Thus, yellow lights play a very important role in controlling traffic flow. What Wuhan traffic authorities have done neglected the function of yellow lights. Therefore, to deem running yellow lights illegal is improper.
Ma Diming (Southern Metropolis Daily): Yellow lights are in no sense equal to red lights. The yellow light is to warn, not forbid. If people who run yellow lights are treated as if they had run red lights, yellow lights are meaningless. In this sense, the simplest practice is to remove yellow lights from traffic lights.
I think yellow lights have an irreplaceable function. They are a warning and give drivers some time to react to the light change and gradually slow down. Drivers should be allowed to pass at a yellow light, so as to avoid car crashes caused by sudden braking at the red light. However, if drivers can manage to stop, it’s better for them to stop at the yellow light. If they can’t, since there are still several seconds to go before the red light turns on, they will not affect the traffic from the other side. Anyway, at the yellow light, drivers need to judge wisely by themselves whether to go or stop, but one thing is certain: Yellow lights do not force them to stop.