China police to punish delivery drivers for traffic violations

BEIJING — Chinese police will punish delivery drivers for serious traffic violations, as the sector’s boom in recent year has lead to many accidents blamed on their risk-taking actions.

Traffic offenses including running red lights and speeding are common, and disrupt traffic order in cities causing accidents on many occasions, Traffic Management Bureau of the Public Security Ministry said on March 26 at a meeting attended by representatives of China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

The bureau and federation have agreed that delivery drivers who are found to have repeatedly violated traffic rules will be banned from working in the sector.

There are more than 20,000 delivery companies across the country. They provide services for over 200 million people on average each day.

China has the world’s largest express delivery sector, accounting for more than 40 percent of the world’s total delivery volume. The sector generated 496 billion yuan ($77 billion) in 2017, according to statistics released by the State Post Bureau.