Shanghai will rename its highways for drivers' convenience, Wenhui Daily reported today.

The current names of the highways all begin with the letter "A", which stands for "highway", followed by Arabic numerals implying the geographic position of a certain road section.

This numbering system was introduced last June to follow the international way of naming highways. However, it seems to have confused many drivers and affected the smooth running of traffic and has even led to traffic accidents, officials said.

Officials with the city's public traffic administration are now discussing a new naming system to make the roads more recognizable to drivers.

( eastday.com September 5, 2002)