Han Ximin

ximhan@126.com

RECENTLY, a video clip of more than 1,000 drivers giving way to an ambulance in heavy traffic during evening rush hour in Nanshan District went viral and won much praise from netizens. Yielding to ambulances isn’t simply a matter of driving civility, but shows the city’s respect for life.

Statistics from Shenzhen police show that violations for failing to yield to ambulances have been decreasing in recent years since police implemented a rule in 2014, which launched a joint effort with the Shenzhen Emergency Medical Aid Center to mount monitoring cameras on ambulances to record drivers who fail to make way for ambulances.

In 2014, police handled 197 cases in which drivers didn’t yield to ambulances. This number dropped to 60 in 2015 and to nine so far this year. The amount of time ambulances take to navigate through congested areas in Futian and Luohu has been reduced by 14 percent in 2017 compared to 2016.

“Based on data provided by the Shenzhen Emergency Medical Aid Center, more than 120 drivers voluntarily gave way to ambulances in 2014, and this number doubled to 240 in 2016. So far this year, 201 drivers have been recorded giving way to ambulances,” Lu Yangyang, deputy section chief with the Shenzhen traffic police commanding department, said in an interview.

Zeng Qinglong, an ambulance driver for Shekou People’s Hospital, has been on the job for 15 years.

“Driving civility has greatly improved. At one time, drivers didn’t pay attention to ambulances despite our honking, but now drivers conscientiously give way when they heard the sirens,” said Zeng, recalling the changes over the past years. Zeng will retire from his post soon and said he has been moved by the change in drivers’ attitudes toward ambulances, medical workers and patients over his long career.

Last month, Zeng’s tire went flat after he picked up a patient who was suffering from a waist injury in heavy rain near Mawan Port. Normally, Zeng would have to wait for another ambulance to pick up the patient since the ambulance was too heavy to replace the tire with the patient and medical equipment inside.

“The workers at Mawan Port came to help. They drove a forklift to help lift the ambulance so we could replace the tire. The workers even helped us look for the tools to complete the replacement,” said Zeng.

Another driver, Luo Shengzhou, with Nanshan District People’s Hospital, who has been on the job for six months, once got stuck in congestion on Shennan Boulevard due to a traffic accident, but was finally able to get through under the guidance of traffic police officers and thanks to other drivers who voluntarily made way.

“As long as you sound the alarm on the way, the vehicles nearby can voluntarily give way,” Luo said.

Ambulance drivers are often in a race against time during rescues. Liang Weiqiang, a driver with Xili People’s Hospital, participated in five rescues in one morning last week, including transporting a 62-year-old worker who was injured while working on a university project.

“We arrived at the scene in eight minutes, and along the 6 kilometers to the scene, drivers voluntarily gave way,” said Liang.

Liang admitted there are still some drivers who don’t pay attention to ambulances. His vehicle was once blocked by a black SUV on a one-way road. Liang had to wait for a chance to pass the vehicle, costing him about 20 seconds.

In the move a few years ago to improve the city’s driving civility and traffic efficiency, police worked out measures, such as yielding to pedestrians at crossings without traffic lights, taking turns to merge and not entering yellow-grid restricted areas.

A netizen noted on a sina.com microblog that his friend, who was visiting Shenzhen, was surprised not to see any drivers honking indiscriminately or cutting in line.