The Shanghai municipal government appears to be getting serious about clamping down on jaywalking, littering and other anti-social behaviour that is part of the daily life of a large number of local people.

The soft approach, highlighted by the "be a lovable Shanghai person" campaign, has now been augmented by public scolding and fines.

Paying the fine is one thing. But being berated by a traffic warden for dashing across the street while the lights are changing at the busy Huaihai Road can be most embarrassing.

Littering is supposed to be just as serious an offence liable to heavy fines and public disgrace. But I have yet to see anyone getting a ticket for throwing candy wrappers or chewing gum onto the pavement.

Surprisingly, spitting is never mentioned in the list of anti-social behaviour that a "lovable" Shanghai person should refrain from. And, of course, many people in Shanghai do just that whenever and wherever they feel like it.

None of these things bother me. I've been living in enough cities to understand that every one of them has its problems. Shanghai may not be as clean and orderly as, say, Singapore. But it possesses a charm that Singapore and many other cities, for that matter, cannot hope to rival.

What really bothers me and many of my friends is the life-threatening danger posed by bicycles, especially those equipped with electric motors, which have been dubbed as "silent killers" by a battle-hardened ex-colleague from the mean streets of Buenos Aires.

These desperadoes on wheels observe no traffic regulations. There is no hiding place from their menace. Cross the street at the green light, and there they are, hurling down on you at the zebra crossing like a swarm of deadly wasps. Don't lower your guard even when you take a leisurely stroll down tree-lined Hengshan Road on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Always be prepared to dodge the charging bicycles sneaking up on you from behind in the supposed sanctuary of the pedestrian walkway.

I am not exaggerating the threat of these "silent killers." An electric bicycle speeding in the wrong direction on a one-way street missed me by a fraction of an inch. The rider made no attempt to slow down or sound any warning. She just kept charging on to the traffic ahead.

A fellow reporter of mine was hit in the arm by a bicycle in Xintiandi, a car-free tourist zone, while we were waiting for a table outside a restaurant. The rider didn't even bother to stop. He continued to wind his way through the crowds of people in the plaza as if it were a deserted speedway.

We are not sure what makes these cyclists so hostile to pedestrians. We can only assume that they must have suffered from an inferiority complex arising from years of abuse by Shanghai motorists, who are all experts in scare tactics against those who share the road with them.

Unlike their counterparts in most other cities, Shanghai motorists believe they have the right of way at any time and under any circumstances. It is common to find right-turning cars honking feverishly while trying to plough their way through rule-abiding pedestrians crossing the road at the green light.

Local friends taught me long ago that the only way to cross the street at the lights in Shanghai is to ignore the oncoming cars by turning your face away from them. They assured me that the drivers would not run me down in cold blood. It has worked so far. But I wish there was a more civilized way than playing chicken to do something as mundane as crossing the street.

Ferocious they may seem to cyclists and pedestrians, Shanghai motorists must eat humble pie when confronted by drivers behind the wheels of motor vans, buses and trucks. The law of the jungle rules on Shanghai's freeways, so size definitely matters.

Those mammoth container trucks are, without doubt, the kings of the road. They hop from lane to lane to overtake any slower-moving object ahead of them. They seem to take particular pleasure in intimidating other motorists by tailgating and in blasting their horns for no obvious reasons other than to be heard.

Anyone who takes a ride to Pudong Airport may wonder when the Shanghai government will get serious about reining in these rampaging highway cowboys. That certainly would take more balls than taking on jaywalkers.

Email: jamesleung@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/04/2006 page4)