Construction vehicles add to road chaos

Thirteen people were injured, one seriously, in the latest traffic accident involving large construction vehicles in Shanghai.

The middle of the right side of the bus is badly damaged. Provided to China Daily

Police said a cement mixer crashed into a half-packed bus in a downtown intersection on Tuesday morning.

Most of the injured suffered bruises and broken bones.

Witnesses said the bus was passing the crosswalk when the truck crashed into the middle of it at full speed.

The windows and fender of the truck were destroyed, with its left front almost embedded into the bus. The bus was heavily damaged, with shards of glass scattered everywhere.

About 20 passengers, including a pregnant woman, were onboard. After treatment, 12 of them, including the bus driver, were discharged from the hospital. One was in the intensive care unit with head injuries.

"My mind went blank when I saw the truck dashing toward us," said a female passenger who was seated in the middle of the bus. "There was just no time to react and protect myself," added the woman, whose head and left knee were injured. She declined to give her name.

Police are looking into the cause of the accident.

Large construction vehicles, common on roads in many cities as the country experiences a construction boom, continue to raise concerns despite government efforts to crack down on illegal practices such as tired driving and overloading.

Official figures showed that construction vehicles caused 407 traffic accidents in Shanghai last year, resulting in 555 deaths and injuries.

Shanghai has attempted to reduce traffic accidents by setting up temporary checkpoints on roads and requesting construction vehicles use a siren when turning. But these measures have proved unsatisfactory in reducing accidents.

"Overloading and speeding are the main reasons for these accidents," said Huang Hu, a senior engineer in the automotive engineering school of Shanghai University of Engineering Science.

"What we can do is to educate the drivers to raise their safety consciousness and increase penalties."

Deng Jin contributed to this story.

Contact the writer at wangzhenghua@chinadaily.com.cn