To ban or not to ban: Xiamen's electric bicycles face controversy

2010-07-22

Recently numerous accidents triggered by electric bicycles frequently happened in Xiamen. Some local inhabitants have complained about it, but the government does not plan to ban e-bikes soon, as many residents still rely on them, reports Xiamen Daily.

Last Wednesday afternoon, a man riding an electric bicycle was hit by a car near Lianhua Wucun residential area, in Siming District of Xiamen. The man, in his 40s, was seriously injured, and was sent to Zhongshan Hospital for emergency treatment.

Officials of the Xiamen traffic department say "the use of electric bicycles has greatly increased the occurrence of traffic accidents in Xiamen."

But should e-bikes be prohibited in Xiamen?

Some residents held the view that electric bikes often caused chaos, so they should be prohibited like motorbikes. While some other people argued that electric bikes shouldn't be banned, as they are more eco-friendly and convenient than cars.

Mr. Hu Nanhua, a retired professor of Xiamen University, says, "It is almost impossible to implement the prohibition on e-bikes in recent days, as so many Xiamen residents still rely on them. But it is feasible to set restriction on e-bikes on some streets of Xiamen, such as speed restriction, road restriction and the like."

连日来，本报持续报道电动自行车违规行驶乱象，引发读者的关注，关于电动车的 话题不断发酵升温。读者纷纷拨打本报热线968820，发表自己的观点。有的说：岛内的电动车越来越多了， 电动车有许多安全隐患，应该像禁摩一样禁行。也 有人认为，电动车方便、环保，不应该被打入“冷宫”。
观点

电动车横冲直撞害人害己

“我妻子几个月前，就在斑马线被电动车撞了。”讲起电动车，陈先生深有感触。他说，当时妻子被撞后，刚买来 的苹果和蔬菜滚了一地，而骑车人回头看了一下，没有道歉就离开了。

陈先生说，每天经过东渡路时，都会看见电动车载着水果蔬菜等货物，晃晃悠悠在路上与机动车“争锋”。“电动 车多了，骑车人经常闯红灯、逆行、横冲直撞，撞到人是经常的事，如果撞到机动车，骑电动车的人也很容易受伤 。现在，是到了禁止电动车的时候了。”陈先生告诉记者。


观点

骑车者无视交规影响交通

提到电动车，的士司机黄先生也有一肚子的话要说。他说，在仙岳路靠近松柏长途汽车站的高架桥上，不时看到电 动车载着货物冲上高架桥，和机动车并驾齐驱。

黄先生说：“不只是高架桥，在石鼓山立交桥、成功大道、集美大桥、杏林大桥等地方，都可以看到电动车。骑车 者无视交通规则，造成了严重的安全隐患。”

观点

电动车是环保交通工具

刘先生上世纪90年代就有自己的私家车了，可是他最近打算骑电动车上班。

刘先生说，家里离工作地点很近，开车绕个圈，得花10分钟，要是碰上堵车，就可能得耗个大半小时，而骑电动 车只需要5分钟。“骑电动车，图的就是方便。而且，电动车不费油，节能又环保，是低碳出行方式 。”

刘先生说，不是所有骑电动车的人都违规，全岛禁行电动车不合适。在他看来，真正的解决办法是，对那些违规骑 电动车的人进行交通法规教育，而不是禁止电动车。

观点

骑电动车出行方便快捷

老王是个送水工，一辆电动车载4到6桶水，可以在大街小巷穿行，方便、快捷。“原来我在老家，都是用摩托车 ，这里摩托车不让骑，我就骑电动车，不费油，路 上还不堵车。”老王对自己那辆电动车十分有感情，“给我面包车，我还不换。像我们送水的，走的是小巷，面包 车根本就进不去。”

【点评】

提高处罚标准，加强文明意识

厦大退休教授胡南桦说，电动车确实是个“两难”问题。一方面，要考虑到骑车人的利益，比如装修工、送餐小弟 、家政人员，电动车给他们带来许多方便。另一方面，骑车人也要严格遵守交通规则，不要认为车子轻便，就随意 逆行、闯红灯。

胡南桦认为，短期内禁行电动车行不通，但可通过相关的措施来限制，例如，限速、限道、提高处罚标准等。当然 ，更重要的是，不管是开车的人，还是骑电动车的人，文明行车的意识都要加强。

【警钟长鸣】

骑电动车被撞，一男子生命垂危

昨日下午，一名男子在莲花五村附近被车撞伤。因为伤势严重，被送入医院抢救。目前交警部门已介 入调查。

这起交通事故发生在下午3时许。被撞男子姓张，40岁左右。当时，他骑电动自行车路过事发地点时，被一辆车 撞倒。张某颅内大出血，生命垂危，医护人员紧急将其送往中山医院抢救。

【他山之石】

福州：

多条主干道将“限电限摩”

为加强市区摩托车和电动自行车通行管理，进一步优化城市交通结构，福州市公安局19日发布通告，决定从20 10年8月15日起，限制摩托车、超标准电动自行车和未注册登记电动自行车在市区多条主干道通行。

9月1日起，对闯禁行的摩托车处以罚款150元、扣3分；超标准电动自行车、未注册登记的电动自行车处以罚 款50元。对于无法当场提供车辆来历证明的，一律暂扣审查。

今后，福州市将按照逐步扩大摩托车、超标准电动自行车和未注册登记电动自行车限制通行的路段和区域，3年内 在市区全面限制通行。

沈阳：

12条路禁行电动自行车

上月起，沈阳市青年大街等12条路禁止电动车上路行驶，违者将被处罚，严重者甚至被拘留。

此前，沈阳交警部门公布的一组数字令人触目惊心：以2006年为基年，到2007年由于电动自行车肇事发生 的死亡率增长了81%，2008年增长了222.7%。

武汉：

骑超标电动车可能被拘留

6月4日，武汉27名无证驾驶摩托车、超标电动自行车者，受到行政拘留的处罚。

交警表示，超标电动车视作机动车管理，驾乘者驾驶此类车辆需具备摩托车驾驶资格，无证驾驶将依法被行政拘留 。

来源：厦门网


Source: http://www.whatsonxiamen.com/news13581.html

don't know how to respond to this. In Shenzhen e-bike is ban. I think it is good for car drivers who have less worry about some reckless riders. I also believe any vehicle allow on road should cover by insure that both parties are protected financially in case accidence happen. E-bike do not need to registered if they hit and injury someone, the biker could easily run and got away from responsibility.
Have you seen any bicycle lane in China? the responsible government department should do some more serious work making sure road is safer for everyone.
My 2 penny...

I agree with your views and points. Its a shame because the government had wanted to impose such kind of rules earlier this year, make all e-bikes have to have riders license and e-bike have to have plate too, and have some insurance. But there was big backlash from many Chinese forum, BBS and also those with a vested interest (e-bike manufacturers etc), so eventually the rules were not implemented. It should be done, and everyone should be held accountable for his or her actions using the roads here, no matter pedestrian, cyclists etc. At the moment, no one cares about the other on the road, just me, me, me. Very selfish. The other part is enforcement, it needs to be handled differently and respected, but it is not.

Over the past while, on the basis of ONLY my own little experience, I have seen some improvements in the way e-bikes are behaving in Beijing. But my experience is limited to where I ride my own e-scooter (central core of Beijing)

A few years ago, it was utter pandemonium. But the police and Traffic Wardens have been having some success in getting the e-bikes / e-scooters to behave. Now, at a traffic light, perhaps only 2 or 3 will try and cross against the red ... the rest of the pack waits. Previously, nobody would ever wait.

It is a long process requiring education, regulation and enforcement, but it can be done. And it has to start with the children.

One thing I would like to see in Beijing (which has fantastic bike lanes) is a crack down on the vehicles that are blocking the bicycle lanes, forcing all of the bikes to swerve into traffic. But this is unlikely to happen in a city that adds 2,200 new cars to the roads EVERY DAY.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lao Jia Hou

.. Now, at a traffic light, perhaps only 2 or 3 will try and cross against the red ... the rest of the pack waits. Previously, nobody would ever wait.

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My observation in Beijing is that 99 of 100 e-bikes are crossing at red - the one who doesn't has a defect :lol8:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lao Jia Hou

It is a long process requiring education, regulation and enforcement, but it can be done. And it has to start with the children.

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Agree - It will take 50 years or more to get this into the brains of the majority of people.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lao Jia Hou

One thing I would like to see in Beijing (which has fantastic bike lanes) is a crack down on the vehicles that are blocking the bicycle lanes, forcing all of the bikes to swerve into traffic. But this is unlikely to happen in a city that adds 2,200 new cars to the roads EVERY DAY.

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The problem is that many BJ bicycle lanes are car-parking lanes also and therefore it's difficult to ban cars from those lanes.
BJ has a big parking space problem for cars!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chinabiker

The problem is that many BJ bicycle lanes are car-parking lanes also and therefore it's difficult to ban cars from those lanes.
BJ has a big parking space problem for cars!

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When I arrived in China in 1990, there were so few private cars in Beijing it was as if you knew who half of them belonged to. ("Oh! There's Hou Dejian's purple Benz!") Today, Bejing's roadbuilders will never keep pace with the spiraling number of cars (2,200 new cars a day hitting the streets, as Laojiahuo noted), so they encroach and encroach and encroach. City planners indeed now calculate parking for cars into the bicycle lanes, meaning in a "bicycle lane" that's, what, maybe 10m wide, the assumption is that 3m of that is for parked cars, and another 3m for cars entering and exiting parking places, leaving little additional space for actual bicyclists. But This is China. Give someone an inch, and they'll take a mile. So now in Beijing we see cars parking on both sides of the bicycle lane, meaning there is only a narrow 3m chute through which bicycles and cars accessing the parking, and of course other cars that are just trying to escape the jam in the traffic lanes, and it quickly becomes snarled and useless for everything. Bicyclists have no choice but to go onto the sidewalk, or, in my case, out into the traffic lanes.

Compared to 20 years ago, the situation is dire and really undermining what little charm Beijing retains. Sad.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by euphonius

... City planners ...

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I am not sure if such really exist :lol8::lol8::lol8::lol8: