Is it necessary?, Many places have legislated regulations, and Shanghai's "bowing head" pedestrians have become new traffic hazards | roads | hazards

In recent years, accidents or incidents have occurred frequently due to pedestrians crossing the road and looking down at their phones. Reporters visiting the streets of Shanghai found that "bowing down" pedestrians are not uncommon and have to some extent become a new hidden danger affecting traffic safety and order.

In response to this phenomenon, many regions in China have successively explored the means of local legislation to constrain and punish the "bowing head tribe" on the road. On August 1st, Xiamen traffic police issued the first "pedestrian crossing the road to browse electronic devices" fine, issuing a "warning" punishment to the parties involved, marking the official implementation of the "Xiamen Special Economic Zone Zebra Traffic Safety Management Regulations".

Do we need specialized legislation to manage the phenomenon of "bowing heads"? There are various different opinions in society. Some people believe that behaviors that only focus on bowing their heads and disregard safety must be strictly regulated by law; Some people also believe that the upper level law does not prohibit pedestrians from using mobile phones when crossing the road, and local legislation is a case of making a mountain out of a molehill, which can easily lead to problems such as using punishment instead of management and excessive law enforcement.

Zeng Gang, Director of the Administrative Law Teaching and Research Office of East China University of Political Science and Law, believes that local legislation is legitimate and reasonable for the public interest of maintaining traffic safety and order. However, when implementing constraints and punishments, it is necessary to pay attention to basic law enforcement principles such as moderation and legitimacy.

The "bowing head tribe" has become a new hidden danger in traffic safety

Walking and playing with mobile phones can easily lead to traffic violations such as running red lights, going against traffic, crossing the road, and more seriously, causing traffic accidents. How is the situation on the streets of Shanghai? The reporter conducted on-site visits.

At 7 pm, the pedestrian and vehicular traffic at the intersection of Nanjing West Road and Shaanxi North Road are constantly intertwined. At the southwest corner of the intersection, more than ten pedestrians stood on the street edge waiting for traffic lights, including four or five people playing with their phones. A pedestrian has already stood on the motor vehicle lane, and the intelligent traffic lights keep emitting the sound of "you have crossed the line, please retreat and wait". However, wearing headphones, he still lowers his head to stare at his phone, completely ignoring the roaring vehicles in front of him.

After the green light comes on, there are still people who cross the pedestrian crossing and brush their phones, occasionally glancing up at the road conditions. The green light started counting down, and a pedestrian who had just arrived at the intersection quickly ran towards the road and met another girl who was walking slowly with her head down. The girl suddenly remembered something and quickly picked up her phone to pass by.

On pedestrian crossings without traffic lights, pedestrians who do not turn a blind eye have a more significant impact on traffic order. At the zebra crossing near Shimen Road on Nanjing West Road, a pedestrian lowered his head and stared at his phone screen, leisurely crossing the road on his own. In the opposite direction, a black sedan stepped on the brakes in front of the zebra crossing, followed by the second and third vehicles... Vehicles traveling east-west on Nanjing West Road lit up their brake lights and stopped on the road, waiting for pedestrians to pass first. "If pedestrians can walk faster, cars will also drive smoother," said the security guard who witnessed the scene.

Why become the "bowing tribe"? The reporter interviewed several pedestrians holding mobile phones. "Just after work, when I wait for the red light, I want to watch a short video and relax," said a pedestrian. Another pedestrian expressed that they have formed a habit of walking and looking at their phones while replying to work WeChat. For the safety hazards brought by walking with a lowered head, some pedestrians expressed that they would use their spare light to pay attention to the road conditions, saying, "It should be safe to follow everyone.".

"Some pedestrians not only look down at their phones, but many also wear headphones, completely ignoring the surrounding road conditions." A traffic police officer told reporters that on daily duty, they often see "bowing heads" on the road, which can cause pedestrians to run red lights, collide with non motorized vehicles, and force motor vehicles to stop.

He further stated that regardless of whether the driver or pedestrian looks down at their phone, on the one hand, it puts themselves at high risk, and on the other hand, it also poses greater challenges for other traffic participants in assessing road conditions, which can easily lead to misjudgments.

Legislation in multiple regions to regulate the "bowing head tribe"

It is understood that in the past few years, traffic accidents or injuries caused by pedestrians looking down at their phones have occurred repeatedly across the country, often causing more serious harm to pedestrians looking at their phones.

At present, China's Road Traffic Safety Law and its implementation regulations do not explicitly prohibit pedestrians from using mobile phones when crossing the road. The above traffic police believe that at present, the law enforcement and legislation for "low headed" pedestrians are not yet perfect, and the education, guidance, and exposure of this hidden danger are relatively insufficient, failing to attract sufficient attention from the public and the "low headed" people. Compulsory management methods also face the embarrassment of lacking legal support.

In order to address the legal shortcomings, many cities have begun to use local legislation to constrain and punish the "bowing head tribe" on the roads.

The Wenzhou Civilized Behavior Promotion Regulations, which were implemented as early as 2019, were the first to formulate regulations prohibiting "bowing head" pedestrians. The regulations clearly prohibit pedestrians from looking down at their phones, playing, etc. when passing through intersections or crossing roads. Violators will be warned or fined 10 yuan. Shortly after the implementation of the regulations, the local authorities issued the first penalty for pedestrians crossing the road to check their phones.

Afterwards, Jiaxing, Taizhou, Hangzhou, and Ningbo successively issued regulations to promote civilized behavior, making prohibitive provisions for "bowing head" pedestrians. Among them, the punishment standards for Jiading and Taizhou are both "warnings or fines ranging from 5 yuan to 50 yuan".

The latest implementation of the Xiamen Special Economic Zone Zebra Safety Management Regulations also requires that pedestrians are not allowed to sit, stay, play or browse handheld electronic devices on zebra crossings. Those who violate relevant regulations and obstruct the legal passage of vehicles will be warned or fined 50 yuan.

Can these local regulations truly play a role in restraining the "bowing head tribe"? "The purpose of law enforcement and punishment is to educate and warn those who bow their heads. However, there are certain difficulties in implementing law enforcement. Frontline traffic police pointed out that it is difficult to obtain evidence and punish" bowing head "pedestrians without on-site law enforcement." After the regulations are introduced, corresponding implementation rules must also be accompanied to truly achieve the legislative purpose. "

Legal professionals who also pay attention to the effectiveness of legislation also point out that the operability of legislation is a key indicator to ensure legislative goals. "In the implementation process, we should focus on the weak links of the mechanism, conduct scientific demonstration and evaluation, and fine standard design on safety warnings, facility renovation, and evidence fixation, in order to minimize the trial and error costs of legislation and promote precise and effective traffic law enforcement."

The determination rules need to be clarified, and the punishment should be moderate

In the view of the majority of respondents, local legislation targeting the "bowing head tribe" reflects the preventive legal thinking of "treating diseases before they occur" in order to enhance social civilization and maintain traffic safety, which is reasonable and necessary.

However, there are also views that the behavior of the "bowing head tribe" still falls under the category of public morality, and legislation on this should be cautious. "If all things and rules need to be constrained by policies and regulations, it may bring greater negative effects, while also considering the corresponding legislative and enforcement costs."

Considering the impact of mobile phones on people's lives and work, some legal professionals have proposed to clearly define the concept and behavior of the "bowing head tribe", and to clarify the criteria for determining violations, such as "how long does bowing head count as bowing head? Does bowing head to look at mobile phones include other electronic products? If law enforcement penalties are to be imposed, these detailed rules and regulations must be improved.".

Zeng Gang believed that the phenomenon of "bowing their heads" can easily cause traffic accidents and also hinder the maintenance of traffic order. "Local legislation is reasonable to constrain this behavior for the sake of public welfare in maintaining traffic safety and order."

But he also pointed out that local legislation needs to comply with basic rules such as moderate law enforcement and due process when implementing constraints and punishments. "For example, more gentle means can be used for constraint measures. When it is necessary to establish mandatory measures, it is not advisable to develop measures that clearly exceed the degree of illegality, such as restricting personal freedom. At the same time, it is also necessary to consider the reasonable connection between governance measures and illegal behavior, and establish legitimate enforcement procedures."