New drivers spilling onto Beijing's streets in droves, dubbed
'road killers' by some, have prompted the authorities to increase
the difficulty of driving tests.
From this year, tests have been made harder to prevent novices
being a menace to other road users, the Beijing Traffic Management
Bureau says.
Now that the test has been adopted citywide, the average pass
rate has dropped from 80 to 50 percent across the capital's 22 test
centers, said Jiang Jing, a press officer from the bureau.
It now includes six compulsory items chosen randomly from nine,
such as hill starts, driving around bends, making 45-degree turns
and parking. In the past, only three items were required.
Existing requirements within each item have also been made more
challenging.
"The driving test is the first line of defense against road
accidents," said Jiang.
According to the bureau, novice drivers with less than three
years' experience are responsible for nearly 30 percent of road
accidents in the city last year. They were also responsible for an
almost equal proportion of fatal accidents.
Every month in Beijing, about 20,000 new drivers have been
appearing on the roads.
"These novices drive too slowly, are unfamiliar with road
conditions and lack the rapid reflexes necessary to deal with the
unexpected. They don't even really know how their cars work," said
veteran cab driver Liu Zhi.
"The test should be designed in a way that only well-trained
drivers can pass. Only those who have practiced hard should get a
license. This is the only way to bring down the number of road
accidents caused by new drivers," said Liu.
Beijingers are required to spend at least 58 hours of training
to get a license, but learner drivers are not allowed to learn on
the roads themselves.
Instead, they are restricted to driving schools - large plots
with tracks that simulate city and rural driving. The tracks have
traffic lights and railway crossings, and students use fleets of
cars and trucks for practice.
Liu Qin, an official from the traffic management bureau, said
the simulated road conditions at driving schools are far simpler
and safer than those in real life.
"Learner drivers do not usually get enough experience at driving
schools before they get on the real road. I heard some new drivers
complain that the driver's seat was still as foreign and as scary
to them as a plane pilot's, even after they have finished the
mandatory 58-hour course," said Liu.
"The new driving test can help improve their skills. For
instance, there is a new item that requires a driver to start the
car from the middle of a slope, get to the top, and then slow down
to the bottom on the other side within 100 meters. Only people who
are quite experienced in dealing with the clutch and the
accelerator can manage it."
Jiang Jing said the new driving test is planned to follow new
traffic safety legislation that came into force last May. This is
another preparatory measure towards smoothing the way for the
massive influx of traffic in 2008, when Beijing hosts the Olympic
Games.
(China Daily January 17, 2005)