Harsher rules curb urban traffic accidents

 BEIJING, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- A newly revised road regulation paid off on Jan. 1, the first day it took effect, as many Chinese cities reported a sharp decrease in urban traffic violations², according to the Ministry³ of Public Security.

"On the first day the revised rules were in place, traffic participants in general followed traffic signs voluntarily, and common violations such as ignoring traffic lights and deliberately⁴ covering license⁵ plates were less seen," said a statement released Wednesday by the ministry.

Under the revision, ignoring traffic lights will result in six penalty points, double the previous punishment. The penalty for improper⁶ license plate display is now 12 points.

Each violation¹ is associated with penalty points, based on the severity of the offense⁷. If a driver receives 12 points in a year, he or she is required to attend a seven-day training session and take a written exam before getting back behind the wheel.

Moreover, 52 kinds of violations can result in penalties, up from 38 under the previous regulation.

The statement said traffic accidents that occurred Tuesday in five major cities -- Beijing, Tianjin, Nanjing, Hangzhou and Jinan -- decreased by 9.3 to 29.8 percent from the previous day, and no severe accidents due to ignoring traffic signals were reported.

1 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

2 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

3 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。

4 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

5 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。

6 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

7 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。