Money

Heavier fines for heavy vehicles 'will not make any difference'

By Cui Xiaohuo (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-14 08:26

Overweight trucks passing through the capital will soon face a tougher fine system that charges an extra 100 yuan for follow-up offences, the traffic management bureau announced Tuesday.

The new rule is a continuation of a local authority campaign against illegally overloaded trucks inside the city perimeter, most of which are transporting groceries, fresh flowers and furniture to and from other regions. Although the trucks keep many local logistics firms alive, traffic authorities view them as a potential road hazard for Beijing.

Drivers of these trucks often break the city's traffic rules by entering downtown areas to cut costs. Authorities previously charged 200 yuan for one offence, but made no further punishment if the driver continued to run illegally in Beijing on the same trip.

Under the new rule, traffic police can charge drivers an additional 100 yuan if they break the ban again on the same trip, or do not immediately leave the restricted area.

"Some drivers keep entering restricted areas despite the fines, which has led to our decision to increase the punishment," a traffic police spokesman said Tuesday.

The modified rule continues to affect vehicles over eight tons, considered as heavily-loaded vehicles.

The traffic authority set the area outside the Fifth Ring Road as a 24-hour perimeter last November to ease traffic congestion and reduce accidents. The road is notorious for accidents caused by drivers of unauthorized heavy vehicles.

A truck entering the city from Shandong province crashed into one van and two sedans on the East Fifth Ring Road on July 28 last year, killing seven. The truck driver and the owner of the vehicle were put on trial this year and successfully sued for more than five million yuan in compensation by the families of the victims.

The last major accident on the East Fifth Ring Road happened last October. Three heavy trucks and two buses collided, seriously injuring two.

To avoid further accidents, the less-congested Sixth Ring Road is being pushed by traffic authorities as an alternative for heavy trucks to circulate Beijing. However, the authority noted there would be an additional toll.

Local logistics businesses, which rely heavily on their heavy truck drivers, said they did not believe the new move would impact their bottom line. They said they would continue to run the risk of getting caught in order to avoid road tolls.

Hao Hai, a local transporter of groceries between Beijing and Shandong province, told METRO he did not think harsher punishments for inbound and outbound trucks would make any difference.

"The traffic authority has been using the same punishment for a while. I don't think they will make any sudden change even though they said they would," said Hao.

Logistics firms noted the impact caused by the 6 percent rise in prices of retail gasoline and diesel last November. The surge brought the price for 0# diesel, used by most heavy trucks, to a Chinese record high of 6.6 yuan per liter.

Most truck drivers earn about 5,000 yuan per month, but the fuel price hike and additional fines by traffic police can cut away one-fifth of their monthly income, Hao said.