Accident reporting gets self-service

More than 100 drivers have taken advantage of the 50 booths that traffic police have set up on the city's elevated highways to help motorists more efficiently deal with minor accidents, local media reported Monday.

The purpose of the booths, which opened on September 30, is to reduce the traffic congestion that accompanies the frequent fender benders on the city's elevated highways each day, said Li Hui, a press officer for the Shanghai traffic police.

Police said drivers on the elevated highways get into about 153 accidents each day, according to a report in the Youth Daily. Most of the accidents are minor, so the drivers can usually agree on who is at fault without getting the police involved.

That's where the booths come in. If the drivers agree who is responsible for the accident, they can go to one of the booths and fill out a form that stands in for an official accident report, Li said.

The drivers can then submit the form, which contains the drivers' personal information and a description of the crash, to a traffic accident insurance claim center to settle the matter.

There are some limitations. Firstly, all of the drivers involved in the accident have to agree on who is at fault. Secondly, they can only use the forms if no one was injured and the accident caused less than 2,000 yuan ($326) in damage. Otherwise, the drivers have to stay put and wait for police to arrive.

The goal is to prevent minor accidents from clogging up the elevated highways. Police said it takes at least five minutes for a traffic police officer to arrive at an accident on the elevated highways, according to the report.

It takes far longer during the rush hours, which is when about one-third of the accidents occur. And even after officers finish their reports, it can take as long as an hour for traffic to return to normal.

"We encourage drivers in minor accidents to go to the self-service booths, rather than wait for police to arrive," Li told the Global Times.

Traffic police have set up the booths on six elevated highways, including the Yan'an Elevated Highway, the North-South Elevated Highway and the Humin Elevated Highway, according to the report.

Each booth has a notice board that details the procedure for dealing with minor traffic accidents, Li said.

The booths also contain other equipment to help drivers, such air pumps to refill tires, the report said.