Section 2 Drivers of Motor Vehicles

Article 19 To drive a motor vehicle, one shall obtain a motor vehicle driver’s license according to law.

An applicant for motor vehicle driver’s license shall meet the requirements for driver’s license specified by the department for public security under the State Council; and after passing the examination, the applicant shall be issued by the traffic control department of the public security organ with the driver’s license commensurate with the type of the motor vehicle.

A person holding a motor vehicle driver’s license of another country who meets the requirements for driver’s license specified by the department for public security under the State Council and passes the examination by the traffic control department of the public security organ shall be issued with a Chinese motor vehicle driver’s license.

The driver shall drive the approved type of motor vehicle clearly stated in the driver’s license; and when driving a motor vehicle, he shall keep the driver’s license handy.

No units or individuals, except the traffic control departments of the public security organs, shall confiscate or suspend motor vehicle driver’s licenses.

Article 20 Training of motor vehicle drivers shall be socialized. The competent traffic control department shall exercise control of the qualifications of the drivers training schools and classes, among which the qualifications of the ones specially for training tractor drivers shall be under the control of the department of agriculture (agricultural machinery).

Drivers training schools and classes shall, strictly in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State, provide their trainees with the training in laws and regulations on road traffic safety and in driving skills, and ensure the quality of training.

No State organs or departments in charge of training or examination of drivers shall sponsor or participate in sponsoring drivers training schools or classes.

Article 21 Before driving a motor vehicle on roads, the driver shall carefully check the safety and technical performance of the motor vehicle; and he shall not drive a motor vehicle with hidden troubles endangering safety, e.g., the safety facilities are incomplete or the parts are not in conformity with the safety and technical standards.

Article 22 A motor vehicle driver shall observe the provisions of the laws and regulations on road traffic safety and, in accordance with the operating instructions, drive the vehicle safely and civilly.

A person who drinks alcohol, or takes psychotropic substances or narcotic drugs which are under State control, or suffers from diseases that prevent him from driving a motor vehicle safely, or cannot drive safely due to over-fatigue shall not drive a motor vehicle.

No one shall force or instigate a driver to drive a motor vehicle in violation of the laws and regulations on road traffic safety or of the requirements for safe driving of motor vehicles, or connive at such violations.

Article 23 Traffic control departments of the public security organs shall, in accordance with the provisions of laws and administrative regulations, regularly examine and check motor vehicle driver’s licenses.

Article 24 With respect to the violations of the laws and regulations on road traffic safety committed by motor vehicle drivers, traffic control departments of the public security organs shall practise the system of cumulative recording of points, in addition to imposition of administrative punishment on the said drivers according to law. The traffic control department of the public security organ shall suspend the motor vehicle driver’s license of the driver whose accumulated number of the points recorded reaches the specified total, give him instructions in the laws and regulations on road traffic safety and have him take an examination again; and if the driver passes the examination, the driver’s license shall be returned to him.

With respect to the motor vehicle drivers who observe the laws and regulations on road traffic safety and have no cumulative points recorded for the year, the specified time for examining and checking their driver’s licenses may be extended. The specific measures in this regard shall be formulated by the department for public security under the State Council.

Chapter III

Conditions for Road Passage

Article 25 Uniform road traffic signals shall be used throughout the country.

Traffic signals include the traffic signal lights, traffic signs, traffic line markings and direction by the traffic police.

Traffic signal lights and traffic signs shall be installed and traffic lines marked in conformity with the requirements for road traffic safety and unimpeded passage and with State standards, and they shall be kept clear, conspicuous, accurate and in good condition.

In light of the need of passage, road traffic signals shall be added, replaced or renewed in a timely manner. Where restrictive road traffic signals are to be added, replaced or renewed, the matter shall be made known to the public in advance and wide publicity shall be made.

Article 26 Traffic signals are composed of red, green and yellow lights. The red light stands for no through traffic; the green light stands for passage permitted; and the yellow light stands for warning.

Article 27 Warning lights, warning signs or protective safety facilities shall be put up at the level crossing of railroads and roads. Where there are no guards for a railroad crossing, warning signs shall be put up at a certain distance from the crossing.

Article 28 No units or individuals shall, without authorization, put up, remove, occupy or damage traffic signal lights, traffic signs and traffic line markings.

A necessary distance shall be kept between the trees and other plants planted, or the billboards, pipelines, etc. installed, on both sides of the roads and along isolation belts, on the one hand, and the traffic facilities, on the other, so that they do not shield road lamps, traffic signal lights and traffic signs, or obstruct the safe range of visibility, or impede the flow of traffic.

Article 29 Roads, parking lots and road supporting facilities shall be planned, designed and constructed in conformity with the requirements of road traffic safety and unimpeded flow of traffic, and shall be readjusted in a timely manner to meet traffic needs.

When the traffic control department of the public security organ discovers that traffic accident occurs frequently in certain sections of a road already open to traffic, or serious hidden troubles endangering traffic safety exist at parking lots or in road supporting facilities, it shall report the matter to the local people’s government without delay, and put forth proposals for prevention of traffic accidents and for removal of the hidden troubles, and the local people’s government shall make a timely decision on how to deal with them.

Article 30 Where roads are so damaged as to cave in, become bumpy or ruined by water, or bulge out, or where such traffic facilities as traffic signal lights, traffic signs and traffic line markings are damaged or disappeared, the maintenance or administration department for road and traffic facilities shall put up warning signs, and make repairs without delay.

When the traffic control department of the public security organ finds the situations as mentioned in the preceding paragraph, which endanger traffic safety and for which no warning signs are put up, it shall take safety measures in good time, regulate the flow of traffic, and inform the maintenance or administration department for road and traffic facilities of the matter.

Article 31 No units or individuals shall, without permission, occupy roads to engage in non-traffic activities.

Article 32 Where it is necessary to occupy or dig a road for construction of projects, or to bury or add pipeline facilities across a road, or above or beneath a road, permission by the department in charge of roads shall be obtained in advance; and where traffic safety may be adversely affected, permission by the traffic control department of the public security organ shall, in addition, be obtained.

The construction unit shall carry out construction in the approved sections of a road and within the approved period of time, and set up conspicuous safety warning signs at the place with the safe distance from the construction site, in the direction of which vehicles are coming, and take protective measures. When construction is completed, it shall immediately remove all the obstacles from the road and eliminate the hidden troubles endangering safety, and only after the road is checked and accepted as up to traffic requirements by the department in charge of roads and the traffic control department of the public security organ, the road may be open to traffic anew.

With respect to a road where traffic is not held up for construction, the traffic control department of the public security organ shall exercise strict supervision over and inspection of traffic safety and maintain road traffic order.

Article 33 In places where public buildings, commercial districts, residential districts, and large (or medium-sized) buildings are constructed, rebuilt or expanded, parking lots shall be constructed or increased to go with them; where parking berths are not enough, the parking lots shall be rebuilt or expanded in a timely manner; and once the parking lots are put into use, their use shall not be discontinued and they shall not be used for other purposes without authorization.

Within the scope of urban streets and on condition that passage of the pedestrians and vehicles are not impeded, the relevant government departments may delimit parking berths.

Article 34 Where there are no pedestrian crossings in front of schools, kindergartens, hospitals and homes for the aged, crosswalks shall be marked and standby signs shall be set up.

Blind tracks shall, according to plan, be paved on the sidewalks along the main streets in cities. Such tracks shall be paved in conformity with State standards.