Fines for drivers causing jams after minor accidents

People and vehicles involved in minor traffic accidents will not be allowed to clog the capital's roads from next Tuesday under a revived regulation to keep Beijing's streets clear for the Olympics.

From July 8 to October 16, people involved in minor crashes will have to get their cars off the road immediately or face a 200 yuan (HK$228) fine and the prospect of detention, according to a statement from Beijing's traffic regulator. In the past, motorists left their vehicles on the road until the parties involved had resolved the dispute over compensation, and that hindered traffic flow.

The regulation is the latest measure by the Olympic host city to ease congestion during the Games.

Municipal authorities previously announced the imposition of 'odd-even' traffic days and the garaging of 70 per cent of government vehicles, both from July 20 to September 20, and a restriction on vehicles entering from outside the city from today until September 20.

In a vaguely worded statement, the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau said in any accident involving vehicles, the parties should move off the main road immediately as long as 'the vehicle is still driveable' or 'the person has only minor injuries'. The bureau did not define 'minor accident' or 'minor injury'.

People who cause traffic jams will be fined, and drivers who refuse to move their vehicles or themselves from the accident scene on traffic police orders will be classified as 'disrupting police duties' and could be detained for up to 15 days.

The streamlined handling of minor car accidents was first introduced in Beijing on July 1 last year, but it was not seriously enforced because parties involved in accidents needed to agree on who was responsible before they moved, which usually required a traffic police officer.