"Rule of law" has become a buzz phrase in China nowadays.

As new laws are drafted, updated and familiarized by the people, society has become more rule-oriented and the government and people are becoming more assured as to how to deal with each other.

Such a balance benefits all.

The newly passed Law on Road Traffic Safety is one that exemplifies that philosophy.

Passed in the fifth session of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC), the country's top legislature, the law clarifies some controversial issues and draws lines for enforcement of the law.

The most obvious controversies previously facing lawmakers were about the conflict between the right to life of pedestrians and the right of way of motorists.

As the country sees an increasing number of cars and other vehicles running on the road, more road accidents ensue.

Statistics from the Ministry of Public Security show that from January to September of this year, about 600,000 road accidents occurred, claiming 71,000 lives and incurring a direct financial loss of 2.3 billion yuan (US$277 million). Road accidents that happened last year killed 109,000 people.

Both pedestrians and drivers are responsible in many cases. Pedestrians ignore the red light signal when crossing the road in some cases, while drivers violate traffic rules and pedestrians are sometimes injured.

It is often impossible to fathom exactly which party is the primary cause. The obscurity, however, has led to the enmity between pedestrians and drivers.

Policy-makers have tried to better regulate the relationship between them in the form of laws. In August 1999 in Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning Province, a method was drafted on the responsibilities pedestrians and drivers should shoulder when a road accident occurs concerning them.

The regulation, which took effect in September that year, states that if the motorists are not at fault in an accident, in other words, if it is the pedestrians who violate the rule and cause the accident, the drivers would be cleared of any responsibility, even if the accident causes death.

The "doctrine of liability for wrongs" has aroused an immediate uproar among the people, who fear and complain that drivers may be egged on to cross the line.

Later, some other cities across the country issued similar regulations, sparking widespread concerns among the people. This includes the NPC lawmakers, who started to examine the draft traffic law nearly two years ago.

After four rounds of serious examination, they concluded that in the law that as the weaker side, pedestrians should have an overruling right to life over motorists' right of way. Only in those accidents caused "purposefully" by pedestrians can drivers be cleared of liability.

Meanwhile, the law stipulates that pedestrians should abide by traffic rules or they will be fined.

This is a welcome move, as it protects the weaker side. Motor vehicles are potentially dangerous to pedestrians. It is widely acknowledged that the right to life is of paramount significance. And protecting the weaker side in road accidents concerning pedestrians and motorists is a common practice in many other countries, lawmakers said.

It is equally important to promote an environment of mutual respect between drivers and pedestrians so that such accidents may hopefully be avoided.

Besides regulating the relationship between pedestrians and motorists, the law for the first time spells out in writing the rights of law enforcement bodies and demarcates their forbidden zones. This is one of its major commendable merits.

"Fine quotas," which used to be a common practice in many places, are forbidden in the law.

To increase revenues, some local police departments set quotas for fines imposed by law enforcers on drivers. The quota system has led to wilful violations of drivers' interests.

Besides many provisions for traffic police, the law stipulates a special withdrawal system for traffic policemen when their involvement in investigating a traffic accident may affect the fairness of the investigation.

It is clear that the law aims to hold a tight rein on the law enforcement of traffic authorities. It will be effective to stem power abuses by traffic police.

Those merits aside, what is comforting is that the process of making the law marks legislative progress in China.

Law experts have long called for retreat of certain specific department from drafting a law, saying that it may involve too much departmental interest in writing the law. The drafting of laws, in many cases, can become a power struggle.

This time, however, things have greatly changed. The Ministry of Public Security has played a leading role in writing the preliminary version of the road traffic safety law. But the NPC has played an increasingly larger role in examining and re-writing the text.

The rare four rounds of examination -- usually a draft law undergoes three rounds of examination before being finally putting to vote -- testifies to the increasing involvement of the NPC in lawmaking, which serves as a positive counterbalance against departmental interests.

The many checks on the law enforcers, namely, the traffic organs of the public security departments, signal the power of the legislature on behalf of the people.

And the contents of the law reveal compromises by the public security departments.

The law stipulates that public security departments are responsible for the country's road traffic safety management. The transportation departments are responsible for "road traffic work in accordance with their functions." And the agricultural machinery management departments manage vehicles for agricultural use, such as tractors.

It seems a rapport has been reached between the three parties. But experts worry whether they can co-operate smoothly when it comes to enforcement in the future. There is also a huge amount of money involved in the management of road traffic-related affairs.

Experts suggest that it would have been better if the establishment of an independent State Council body that co-ordinates the management of road traffic be stipulated in the law.

Given the fact that thousands of people die in road traffic accidents every year, policy-makers should take a serious attitude to the suggestion.

(China Daily November 3, 2003)