One week off? Not for these folks

Motorcycle police is always first on the scene

When most people are celebrating the National Day holiday with their families and friends, many are still at work especially if their occupations concern the public interest.

Huang Kun, a 34-year-old policeman at a traffic department in Chaoyang district, is one of the people who work during the holidays.

Instead of driving police cars to deal with alarms, Huang, together with 800-some policemen in the city, drive their motorbikes at work.

"I'm lucky to combine my interest with my job," Huang said. "Being a policeman means serving people that I have always remembered since I started my job. When I'm riding the motorbike, I have a sense of my vocation."

In 2019, Beijing's traffic management bureau launched the first squad of motorbike police with 185 members, in order to enhance its response and manage efficiency for emergencies, considering the traffic conditions in the city.

This police force has been expanded to a group with 800 policemen in total all over the city by December last year.

Huang's interest in motorcycles started when he was in high school. Having watched people driving motors, the speed and excitement charmed Huang.

As Beijing police announced a program for a motorcycle police team, Huang signed up and took the training.

Huang is now in charge of patrol and law enforcement in the area that his station covers. Riding his light-flashing, badge-shining motorcycle, Huang has performed well and won several honors in past years.

"The sooner the police arrive on the scene to handle incidents, the shorter traffic congestion lasts," he said about advantages of efficiency and swiftness with motorcycle in traveling through traffic jams to deal with incidents.

In 2020, he has tackled more than 300 reports of traffic congestions and incidents, as well as thousands of traffic violations.

There are sometimes special tasks, too. In August last year, Huang led a car with a bleeding pregnant woman to a maternity hospital. Even during the rush hour, he took only 10 minutes to reach the hospital, saving precious time for medical treatment.

Besides emergencies, motor police need to deal with various kinds of reports. Once in winter, he received a report saying that a dog had run into the greenbelt of the 4th East Ring Road.

He drove to the place immediately, and saw that the dog was hostile against people. He had to be patient and careful.

"Finally, we found a net and managed to carry it out of the traffic," he said.

"Our work may be less exciting than the work of the detective police, but we are the kind of police that are very close to people's daily lives."

Recently, Huang has shared his experience and set up a course for his colleagues to improve their motorcycle driving skills and physical competence.

"Proficient skills will guarantee the safety of both police and people on the road." He knows that they have to be well-prepared.

"You need to be fast enough to respond to a report while ensuring your own safety. High-tech equipment has also helped us, such as the safety gear we wear during the rides."

During the holidays, the volume of tourists traveling in and out of Beijing increases, bringing pressure on public transportation. Huang and his vehicle, are fully prepared.

Feng Xiaojie contributed to this story.

dujuan@chinadaily.com.cn