Danger looms as drivers let fly

Screenshots from a camera on a bus show what happened when driver Wu Bin was hit by a flying piece of metal. The bus was on an expressway near Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Tuesday.  [Photo\Xinhua]

Objects thrown from vehicles causing serious traffic accidents

Experts have reminded the public to be fully aware of the danger of flying objects on expressways, after a bus driver was killed by a flying piece of metal last week in East China.

Many drivers say they constantly see people throwing objects out of car windows on highways.

Wan Jiang, who regularly drives on the expressway between Southwest China's Chengdu and Chongqing municipality, said he often sees empty bottles, fruit peels or papers thrown out of other cars.

"Once I was astonished by an empty mineral water bottle flying out from a truck that was in front of me, so I suddenly and instinctively slammed on the brakes.

"Fortunately, the bottle did not hit my car and I was not rear-ended," he said.

"I worry a lot about plastic bags or papers thrown out of cars in front of me when driving on the expressway, because those objects might block my sight," said Wan.

"Drivers usually hit the brakes or swerve in such a case", which could easily cause an accident, Wan said.

China's road traffic safety law forbids passengers to toss objects from vehicles, with fines of 5 yuan (80 US cents) to 50 yuan. For drivers themselves, fines are 20 to 200 yuan.

Some local traffic regulations cover this situation as well. For example, in East China's Zhejiang province, drivers or passengers who throw objects from cars on expressways and cause road damage, pollution or traffic disruptions face fines of 500 to 5,000 yuan.

Objects hurled from vehicles have caused many accidents.

Last year, a truck driver in Zhejiang's Ningbo city threw a burning cigarette butt out of one of the vehicle's windows. The butt set fire to plastic foam wrapped around air conditioners on the truck and burned the entire vehicle.

In 2007, three 9-year-old boys threw rocks from a footbridge on Chengdu-Nanchong Expressway in Sichuan province. One rock hit a car and killed the passenger next to the driver.

"Passengers and drivers should be fully aware of the consequences of throwing objects on expressways," said Zhang Zhuting, a law professor at the Transport Management Institute under the Ministry of Transport.

Tossing objects will lead to fines, and violators will be held civilly or even criminally responsible if they cause injuries or deaths, he said.

Commenting on the idea of using of tougher windshields as a defense against flying objects, independent auto analyst Jia Xinguang said windshields are not designed to directly sustain the impact of flying objects.

Rather, they are designed to avoid shattering on impact.

"Anything, no matter soft or hard, could exert a strong impact on windshields, as the speed of flying objects could exceed 200 kilometers per hour. Even steel may not be able to sustain such force," he said. "So indeed it's not the problem of windshields, but the people."

Jia Yuanhua, a traffic expert with Beijing Jiaotong University, said flying objects on expressways aren't always thrown deliberately. Sometimes, goods fall from vehicles. Sometimes parts fall from vehicles as well.

"We heard much about things such as pigs, televisions and pieces of coal falling from trucks on expressways and causing accidents, which reveals that there are loopholes in expressway management," he said.

Jia Yuanhua said expressway management bureaus should give greater attention to traffic safety.

Authorities at tollgates should check whether vehicles carrying goods have secured those goods firmly, he said.

"Expressway management authorities should bear in mind that any flying or falling objects on expressways, no matter what they are, could pose great dangers," he added.

Jin Bozheng, a senior engineer with the Hangzhou Long-Distance Transport Group, said drivers should pay attention to vehicle maintenance to ensure all parts are securely fastened.

Experts also warn that tossing recyclable objects such as bottles and tins on expressways would attract trash collectors, who might climb barriers and expose themselves to the danger of traffic.

In 2006, two people were killed by a car on an expressway in Zhejiang when they walked onto the road to pick up a pile of waste newspaper left by a truck.