Tricycles Are The Latest Victims of Shanghai's Traffic Crackdown

By Allison Bew

It seems that 2017 is the year of traffic crackdowns for the city of Shanghai. Sanlunche, the three-wheeled motorized tricycles, are the latest vehicle that the Shanghai government is focusing on regulating.

These tricycles are typically used to transport construction materials, old household appliances and kitchen waste, and are built by adding a battery and motor onto a bicycle. This is supposedly dangerous because it severely inhibits the vehicle's brakes, thus making it a danger to everyone else on the road, especially pedestrians.  

When fully loaded, sanlunche are still not as fast as many e-bikes, but they can carry many more goods than non-motorized tricycles.

Shanghai Daily reported that police have already temporarily seized over 2,500 illegal motorized tricycles this month. In fact, police stopped four of these tricycles last Thursday, at the intersection of Gonghexin Lu and Changzhong Lu in Jing’an district.

Owners of these vehicles will be fined RMB50 yuan for illegal modifications, and an additional RMB50 if they do not have a license to operate it.

Shanghai Daily spoke with an owner, surnamed Lu, of a sanluche that got confiscated by police. He told them that he purchased the motorized tricycle for RMB4,700 two years ago and has been making a living transporting construction waste from residential complexes nearby to recycling facilities using his sanlunche.

Shanghai police are also cracking down on pedestrians, particularly jaywalkers. There are now facial recognition cameras at the intersection of Gonghexin Lu and Yongxing Lu, also in Jing'an, and police are using the "shame" method by displaying pictures of the culprits at bus stations until they pay their RMB20 fine.

Police are really making use of cameras as watchdogs, because not only are they using cameras to track jaywalkers, they are also monitoring cars who don't give right of way way to pedestrians.

On top of sanlunche, cars and pedestrians, unlicensed scooters are also seized in Shanghai. This truly has been the year for traffic crackdowns in the city.

After all of these traffic regulations being implemented in the city, who will be the next target of China's attempt to make the streets a safer place for all? Only time will tell!

[Cover via Shanghai Daily]

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