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Traffic authorities to reveal locations of cameras today

By Cao Li (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-01 14:23

SHANGHAI: As part of a national law which takes effect today, the country's police will announce the locations of all traffic surveillance cameras across the country.

The law is aimed at "standardizing traffic law enforcement", said a statement from the Shanghai municipal public security bureau's traffic department.

Once the locations of the cameras are announced, traffic law enforcement will become more transparent and will help smooth the traffic, it said.

Zhou Ming, a taxi driver in Shanghai, said if drivers knew where the traffic surveillance cameras were placed it would lower the chances for accidents.

"When a driver knows there are cameras on a particular street, he will abide by traffic rules," he said.

"On most occasions, drivers don't speed on purpose," he added. Shanghai has more than 1,700 traffic enforcement cameras to photograph vehicles violating traffic rules.

Their locations will be announced today at the website www.shjtaq.com.

According to the law, police across the country will have to announce the locations of the cameras in their respective provinces by today.

Yesterday, police in Shaanxi province announced the locations of 30 traffic cameras on highways.

The law also includes a series of measures for traffic authorities, stipulating ways to collect evidence and enforcing laws.

For example, a traffic ticket must be placed on the vehicle, where it does not block the driver's vision and does not fall off easily.

It further stipulates that a blood test for alcohol can be conducted only if the breath analyzer detects alcohol and the driver disagrees with the result.