Fatal accidents sound alarm for China's road killers

 Fatal accidents sound alarm for China's road killers¹

BEIJING, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Dangerous roads claimed the lives of nearly 800 people in China during the eight-day holiday, leaving heart-broken memories to their families who had been planning reunions or tours.

Statistics with China's Ministry² of Public Security showed 794 people were killed and more than 2,400 others injured in road accidents during the Sept. 30 to Oct. 7 travel rush. The "Golden Week" combined the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holidays this year.

Figures showed there was a 46.4 percent fall in the death toll³ compared with the same period last year, yet the casualties highlighted the dangers on China's roads, with a sharp increase of private cars involved during the past decade.

"I saw six different pileups as I drove my car from Qujing, southwestern Yunnan Province, to Yibin, Sichuan Province close to Yunnan," said Xie Ying. The drive took 11 hours, double the time it usually takes.

The accidents were a primary cause for highway traffic jams, he added. "Some drivers turned a blind eye to traffic rules and tried to speed up to pass others. It was really very dangerous."

In one of the fatal accidents, 14 people were killed after two passenger buses collided on an expressway in east China's Shandong Province on Sunday. In another, on Oct. 1, five German tourists and a Chinese driver died and 14 others were injured after their bus rear-ended a container truck and caught fire near Chinese capital Beijing.

The holiday saw more cars on the roads than ever before, due to a newly adopted government policy, which made most expressways toll free during the holiday period for passenger cars with fewer than seven seats.

"The free-fee policy led to a sharp increase of newly-passed drivers, who grasped this opportunity to enjoy driving, which posed threats to road safety," said Wei Ningxian, head of traffic police of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous⁴ Region.

Wei pointed⁵ out many families chose to drive their own cars for long journeys, which often caused driver fatigue⁶ and therfore traffic accidents. "Overspeeding and drivers' fatigue are the main causes of accidents."

In Chinese towns and cities, it is not difficult for well-off families to buy a car. More and more rely on them for work or travel, making traffic jams a big problem.

Road safety faces challenges. Drivers do not give way to pedestrians⁷ at intersections⁸ when light signals allow both to go. Some pedestrians or drivers ignore red lights.

Official statistics showed 62,387 people died in road accidents last year in China, or 170 each day on average.

Zhou Donglin, a drivers training school coach in central China's Hunan Province, blamed road accidents on poor training.

"The biggest problem lies in exam-oriented training, in which learners focus on memorizing basic knowledge but lack more practice," said Zhou. "They do not know how to deal with emergencies properly when driving on roads, nor keep in mind traffic rules and safety awareness⁹."

A new driver surnamed Chen in Nanning, capital of Guangxi, said he managed to obtain a license¹⁰ after receiving training for no more than ten hours before the holiday. This was to avoid a new policy that will require 55 hours of training for the same license.

"Preparations are made only for passing traffic exams. I forgot most of what I had learned after the exam." Chen said.

To improve road safety, analysts¹¹ have called for tougher and more effective exams for drivers and tougher punishment for violators of traffic rules.

"It is important to improve the training system and enhance the qualities of drivers," said Wu Yong, another driver coach in Hunan.

Some netizens suggested popular TV channels broadcast traffic knowledge and videos of road accidents to raise the safety awareness of Chinese drivers.

1 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

5 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

6 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

7 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 intersections   

n.横断( intersection的名词复数 )；交叉；交叉点；交集

参考例句：

• Traffic lights have been placed at all major intersections. 所有重要的交叉路口都安装了交通信号灯。
• Intersections are of the greatest importance in highway design. 在道路设计中，交叉口占有最重要的地位。 来自辞典例句

9 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

10 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

11 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。