Technology keeping riders safe and legal

Over 5,600 trucks transporting construction waste have had a right-turn monitoring system installed, police said on Friday.

Trucks are often involved in traffic accidents by knocking down bikers and e-bike riders when making right turns.

The system can detect people near the trucks when turning right and alert the driver. 

Chen Zhen, vice director of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, told a press conference that the number of such accidents had been “dropping significantly” since the second half of last year and attributed the result to the system.

There had been a 46.2 percent drop in the number of accidents involving trucks in which people were injured since the beginning of this year, Chen said, but the monthly number has been on the rise since April.

Police said the system is to be applied to other large vehicles such as tourist buses and trucks transporting dangerous chemicals.

Meanwhile, incidents of e-bikers running red lights, using the wrong lane, driving in the wrong direction and carrying passengers were still common.

About 67 percent of all accidents involving injuries so far this year involved e-bike riders, with most caused by riders ignoring traffic rules, police said.

Police have been installing RFID chips on delivery drivers’ e-bikes to automatically catch any offenses.

Cameras and other monitoring equipment to detect the chips now cover all key intersections within the Outer Ring Road, and will soon be extended to the rest of the city, police said.

Police are also urging e-bike riders to wear helmets, as most deaths of riders in accidents were the result of brain injuries. However, wearing a helmet is not yet compulsory.

There are over 10 million e-bikes in Shanghai.