The street to the east of my apartment building in Beijing was once a quiet one. Even though it had six lanes, it led to nowhere, stopping short of the northern Fourth Ring Road.

For a few years, residents of apartment buildings on the eastern side of the street found it very convenient to cross it right at the gate to our apartment compound to shop at the big supermarket on the west. Traffic was light and slow.

The tranquility broke in early August. Then, an overpass was completed, flying over the ring road and linking the street - Huixin Xijie - with Beiyuan Street.

Vehicles, from heavy-duty trucks to sedans, began to roar down the fly-over onto Huixin Xijie, which leads to the northern Third Ring Road.

As a local resident, I once marvelled at the urban planners' thoughtfulness in having a pedestrian bridge built over Huixin Xijie earlier, and erecting a demarcation belt with a safety-wire fence in the middle of the now busier thoroughfare.

Residents on the other side of the street can still come and shop via the pedestrian flyover, with one footpath leading right into the supermarket.

Then one day, I was aghast to find one block of the safety-wire fence gone, and people crossing the busy street heedless of the pedestrian overpass just a few strides away. The street has become noisier, as more cars honk their horns and sounds of tires tearing become more frequent.

Above all, those who want to save only a few minutes and a little "trouble" are risking their lives.

So far, no one has been killed or injured by going through the broken fence. But deaths have occurred in similar circumstances along railway lines and expressways - not only in Beijing, but also in other cities, where people break off safety fences and take chances crossing the rails or expressways.

When deaths do occur, media usually rush to publicize the gory details or spell out the amount of compensation.

There is also finger-pointing at drivers who drive too fast or at urban construction workers who do not keep watchful eyes and mend the fences in time to prevent tragedies. And there are people who come out to defend the dead, most of whom are among the rural poor.

But a farmer-turned-taxi driver once told me that he grew up hearing his parents constantly warn him not to walk in the middle of the street or the road where there were motor vehicles.

Pedestrians may have reason to argue that motor vehicles have not followed the rules to respect them when drivers shoot through pedestrian crossings.

I believe that amidst the deaths, impairing of public works or debates over the legalities, our media, our public education system and the whole society have not done enough to instil in every member of the public our civic duty to value the own lives, respect each other and follow the social norm as far as traffic is concerned.

Social pressure is lacking upon the people who disrespect the lives of others and themselves. To build up such social pressure, the public works people should erect bigger and more glaring signs where safety fences are constantly broken, to urge people to be protective of their own lives. They need to be more watchful and mend the fences before tragedy occurs.

Traffic regulations and normal behaviour in a social and traffic setting should become part of the social ethics curricula within the compulsory education system - not only in cities, but also in rural areas.

Only in this way can our youngsters from every corner of the country learn early on the value of life and their civic duty as well as the proper dos and don'ts as drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

Email: lixing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/28/2006 page4)