Part 2: Disrespect of Life 　

More than 100,000 people die of traffic accidents around China every year, or 1 every 5 minutes – an infamous world #1. In other words, when I finish writing this article 30 minutes later, 6 victims, alive in China somewhere now, who are someone's parents or kids living their lives full of dreams and responsibilities, will pass away without even knowing why – leaving their family and friends behind with heart-stricken grief and pain forever. 　

What upsets me most, however, is that most of the accidents can be easily avoided if the drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians just pay a little bit more attention to details and stand by basic traffic rules – Drink less; stop stupid racing; mitigate road rage; no fooling around driving; no jaywalking; no biking on the wrong lane, or sometimes just wear the right shoes. The most deadly car accident in Shenzhen this year that took a heavy toll of 19 human lives was caused by the driver’s inability to maneuver the brake with the slippers he was wearing.

Some tease that there is only one traffic rule in China -- “Everyone has the right of way”. It is often seen that several cars are tangled up with no one flinching, causing a deadlock in rush hours while a long line of waiting vehicles horn hopelessly. Most don’t realize that, other than satisfying their selfish desires of being fast or taking shortcuts, they also hold responsibilities for others’ safety; or they simply lack basic respect of life. 　

The most emotionally shocking and disturbing cover page of any magazine I’ve read was the vivid portraits of hundreds of US gun victims slain in a week on Times magazine. One memorial portrait of the deceased went beyond a thousand words; several hundreds of them would make a tough guy shed tears, because one could always find someone on the list that resembles a relative, a friend, or a schoolmate. 　

I strongly suggest that a newspaper would rise up and print the portraits of 300+ victims lost in traffic accidents everyday around China, so as to remind those showing disrespect of life, that reckless driving and disregard of traffic rules, may just add another face to next day’s victim list and ruin lives of many people close to the victim.