From modernized traffic infrastructure to convenient service platforms, the traffic department in Harbin, capital of Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, has been sparing no efforts to ensure residents a safe traffic environment, according to Cui Jinsong, director of the city’s traffic management bureau, on Oct 14.

Cui Jinsong, director of the Harbin traffic management bureau, talks about traffic safety management to reporters at an interview on Oct 14, 2014.[Photo/my399.com]

Faced with an increase of 400,000 vehicles and 700,000 drivers in the past three years, an annual increase of 15 percent, the city now has 1.2 million vehicles and 2.23 million drivers. The travel demand of pedestrians and non-motor vehicles is increasing as well.

To keep up with the growing vehicles and drivers, the city has drawn a total of 7.23 million meters of traffic lines, maintained and adjusted 95,000 meters of guardrails, set up 21,000 meters of new guardrails, 32,000 new parking spaces, 26 one-way streets and six smooth areas with "microcirculation."

The traffic police has dealt with over 14 million traffic violations, persuaded and educated 150,000 people with minor offenses, detained 12,700 people with serious violations, held 2,700 people criminally liable for allegedly committing traffic offenses or dangerous driving, arrested 24 people of drunk driving, and destroyed nearly 10,000 unregistered vehicles in a concentrated manner.

Generally, complaint cases received by the traffic police have decreased by 75 percent. The retention rate of administrative reconsideration has exceeded 98 percent. The winning percentage of administrative proceedings has reached 100 percent.

Recently, giving overall consideration to specific aspects such as the settings, specifications and appearance, the city has carried out major clean-ups, adjustments and rectifications, striving to provide the public with clear and intuitive traffic information in an easily understandable, normative and standard traffic language.

"We have also made efforts to highlight the applications of high-tech and informationized traffic control, set up 200 new intelligent traffic lights in the city, independently researched and developed 300 traffic law-enforcement vehicles of ‘dynamic snapshots of traffic offenses’, participated in resource integration and realized information sharing among the digital urban management, monitoring of traffic police and e-police project,” said Cui at the interview.

The introduction of intelligent traffic management and control of "one platform and four systems" in particular, will achieve overall improvement of the capabilities of decision making, fast response and scientific treatment of the city's public security and traffic management. It will bring about leapfrog development from "management by person" to "technical control."

Harbin traffic administrative departments have taken the lead in the province to regulate the social management model in two sectors, driving tests and motor vehicle inspections. They have achieved overall improvement of five intimate services of public administration, such as web-based, sunny and extended services, and innovation initiatives such as the "four in one" monitoring platform and "sunshine monitoring wall," which rank among the top in the country.

Police departments have also set up an "online vehicle administration office," which has successively realized 37 convenience-for-people initiatives, such as dealing with traffic cases in "one window," online public numerical selection, self-handling punishment for violations and remote payment of fines. They have also set up new service platforms such as online voice services, short message services and extended sites in urban areas.

Based on the traffic administration functions, traffic police departments have constantly carried out publicity and education activities of traffic safety to improve traffic etiquette.

In the past three years, the traffic police departments have organized 230 large-scale activities, including theme-based promotion and lectures by policewomen. In cooperation with the mainstream media, they have continuously broadcast 350 episodes of brand programs such as "a traffic police captain on the road" and "my dream of smooth traffic," which has strengthened contacts between the police and the people. They have also opened online communities and through new media such as the official microblog of Harbin traffic police bureau, released 1,300 hot tips.

In the past three years, the traffic police departments have broadcast a total of 12,000 pieces of news, sent 980,000 short messages, released over 1,800 traffic reports, and printed and distributed over 2.6 million copies of promotional materials such as "a letter to the driver" and 6,000 self-made promotional cards such as "recorded warnings" and "traffic revelations."

"By cracking down on traffic offenders and promoting the publicity and education of traffic safety, all traffic participants have enhanced their law-abiding awareness and improved traffic morality. No drunk driving, fastening seat belts and no needless honking have gradually become the consensus of Harbin residents,” Cui explained at the interview.

Despite the surge of motor vehicles and certified drivers in the past three years, the city has witnessed a substantial decline in four major indicators, including total numbers of accidents, related injuries, death toll and financial damages. Injuries and death toll caused by traffic accidents, in particular, have dropped by nearly 11 percent and 22 percent, respectively, on a yearly basis.

Mortality rate in every 10,000 vehicles in Harbin has also decreased substantially to 3.43 at the end of September, a figure that is relatively low among provincial capitals of the country. In addition, 98 percent of hit-and run suspects were found soon after the accidents, and approximately all of them were captured. By fully exploring the potential of the traffic police, Harbin has set new records by netting over 100 wanted fugitives on an online list and apprehending 200 criminal suspects in a nationwide campaign to clear crimes. These moves have retrieved hundreds of millions of yuan in economic losses.

At the end of the interview, Cui appealed to all citizens to actively participate in urban management; cooperate with the services and persuasion of the traffic police, auxiliary police and volunteers; and eliminate bad driving habits in an effort to build Harbin into a national civilized city.