After attack, China asks drivers to cool road rage

BEIJING -- The attack shocked China in early May: a woman dragged from her car in a case of road rage in Sichuan, thrown to the ground and kicked repeatedly in the face and head -- all caught on video.

And it was hardly an isolated event. About 100 million road-rage attacks have been reported since January 2012, according to the Ministry of Public Security. Incidents arising from drivers forcefully changing lanes or disrespecting the right of way rose 10 percent in the first four months of this year compared with the same period last year, it said.

"People are easily agitated nowadays, feel underappreciated and disrespected, and they take it out on the road by being bullies on the road," Sun Xiaohong, a prominent observer of the auto industry for more than a decade, said in an interview.

As a result of the public debate over the video, the security ministry issued a statement May 8 calling on drivers to be "civilized," follow traffic rules and manage their anger.

"Offensive driving caused by road rage is a severe violation of law that disrupts order and endangers traffic safety," the ministry said in the statement. "Drivers should consciously rein in their road rage."

The anger in China is rising in tandem with the tenfold surge in vehicle ownership over the past decade, causing motorists to fight for everything from parking spaces to right of way. Across the country, pedestrian crossings are routinely ignored by motorists, angry honking is epidemic and jaywalking is rampant. Road rage caused about 82,000 car accidents last year, a 2.4 percent increase over 2013, the ministry said.

About one in three drivers surveyed by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou said they were part of a "road-rage tribe," meaning they had gotten into fights with other drivers, according to the public security ministry.

"Driving etiquette hasn't kept up with the number of cars and motorists," Sun said by phone.

In the Sichuan attack, which surfaced in early May, a man can be seen getting out of his car after forcing a woman to stop her car in the road. He opens her door, drags her out and flings her to the ground, repeatedly kicking her in the face and head, then throwing her to the ground again each time she tries to get up.

Police in Chengdu issued a statement saying a man called Zhang was "taken into criminal detention" in connection with the attack and is suspected of the crime of picking a fight and provoking trouble.

The man was incensed that the woman had suddenly cut into his lane, forcing him to brake hard and scaring his wife and child, who were in the car, according to a report by China Central Television.

While sympathy poured in for the woman after the video of the beating, public opinion soon turned against her after another video was released online purportedly showing her cutting off the man by switching abruptly into his lane.

More than 10,000 commenters posted on the police's microblog, many in support of the beating and using vitriol and offensive language against the woman.

"Uncle policeman, I'd like to donate 100 yuan to the man to show appreciation for him enforcing justice on behalf of the heavens," read one by a poster using the name Romance Milk Little Sister.

"That woman totally asked for it," another poster called Yuki wrote.

The drastic turn in public opinion led the woman to apologize.

"I am sorry for my rash and illogical driving," the driver, identified as 28-year-old Lu Qin, wrote in an open letter dated May 11 that was first published by the Southern Metropolitan Daily and then picked up by the official media including the Xinhua News Agency. "My family and I have felt the full force of online violence, and it has hurt my family badly, which is why I don't wish for the same to be inflicted on Mr. Zhang and his family. We have all paid the price."

Neither Zhang nor Lu could be reached for comment.

SundayMonday on 05/24/2015

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