The Story of a Traffic Police Officer

Zang Xinmao

"We should deploy a larger police force on major sections and work closely with other departments to brace ourselves for possible traffic congestion， car accidents and bad weather during the travel peaks of the May Day holiday，" said Qi Long while patrolling the expressway section under his jurisdiction with his colleagues on April 25. This was part of the precautions that he planned for the peak traffic flow in the upcoming May Day holiday.

Qi joined the police force in 1999 and has been dedicated to expressway traffic safety management for 24 years since. Career-minded and strong-willed， he has vigorously explored new ways to manage traffic and created new models for fulfilling his duties. Through this he has ensured smooth traffic flow and safe travels on the expressway section under his administration.

In April 2023， Qi Long was awarded the "National May Day Labor Medal" by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions. "This great honor will motivate me to keep marching forward and stick to my duties， and I will do my best to improve traffic flow and increase traffic safety，" he says.

Ready to Sacrifice

At 9：00 am on April 25， several tourist buses from Henan Province drew into the Shijiazhuang South Service Area along the Qingdao-Yinchuan Expressway. Qi Long and his colleagues boarded the buses to remind  the travelers of traffic safety and affix a sign reading "please keep your seat belt fastened during your whole trip" on each of the bus.

A 32-kilometer-long section of the Qingdao-Yinchuan Expressway and a 27-kilometer-long section of the Shijiazhuang South Ring Expressway come under the jurisdiction of Qi's team. These sections contain two tunnels， two parking areas and one service area， with the average daily traffic volume reaching approximately 30，000 vehicles.

"The advent of the peak tourist season has brought an increasing number of buses. It is essential for us guys to enhance public awareness for safety，" says Qi. The Qingdao-Yinchuan Expressway is a busy thoroughfare connecting Shanxi Province and Shandong Province，  characterized heavy traffic flows dominated by large numbers of heavy-duty trucks. This makes it a top priority to check if any truck drivers are， for example， driving while tired.

At 11：00 am， Qi's team members found during a routine check that a truck driver from Shanxi had been behind the steering wheel for more than four hours， the time limit before truck drivers are required to take a break. They educated the driver about the danger of fatigue while driving and imposed a fine for his dangerous behavior， warning him to take a sufficiently long rest before continuing his journey.

"This is an accident-prone period in which drivers are prone to tire. We should take preemptive measures， strengthen the control and management of traffic flow and volume， and pay attention to key times and expressway sections to quickly identify potential risks and ensure travelers a safe journey，" Qi stresses.

To spot and eliminate potential safety risks promptly and guard against traffic accidents， Qi's team leverages technology to combine physical and virtual patrols to monitor and rectify illegal activity on the expressway. His team also partners with the authorities responsible for road administration， accident cleanup， and road maintenance to establish a joint work platform for the traffic safety of the Qingdao-Yinchuan Expressway. All relevant authorities have their own patrol fleets organized into different groups， each one equipped with an interconnected radio and GPS. All the groups are coordinated by Qi's team. In case of extreme weather or emergency， these groups come to timely rescue， maximizing efficiency a lot.

"Whenever holidays and festivals arrive， my team of 18 police officers and five auxiliary officers take their posts around the clock. We monitor traffic conditions， direct traffic flow， deal with traffic accidents， and guard against emergency events， all for the purpose of a safe， orderly and expeditious flow of traffic on our expressway section and beyond，" says Qi.

Qi's team's years of diligent sevices have been rewarded with an improved traffic situation on this section of road， and has won them the praise of passing travelers. For years， Qi's team has been ranked by their head office as an exceptional group， and Qi has also been honored three medals of merit for his outstanding performance.

Well-rounded innovator

At 2 pm on April 25， a vehicle registered in Shaanxi eased into the Shijiazhuang South Service Area with a heavy load of hazardous chemicals aboard. On seeing the vehicle， Qi and his associates hurried up to the driver： "Excuse me. You should pay more heed to the traffic safety of your vehicle，" they said. He wrote down detailed information related to the vehicle and the driver and handed a notice to the driver on regulations for vehicles carrying hazardous chemicals.

Vehicles of this kind account for a large proportion of traffic on this expressway section. In response， from 2020 Qi's team began carrying out surveys to count the number of tourist buses， passenger buses， and dangerous goods vehicles that pass through the section. They entered the information of those vehicles and the operating companies into an electronic archive and then inked a letter of responsibility and an agreement with those companies to clarify their responsibilities for vehicle safety. Additionally， they launched publicity campaigns around their police workstation to enhance drivers' safety awareness.

"We have introduced a multiparty notification mechanism to report rule-breaking vehicles. We will notify the driver， his company they work for， and the local traffic authority with which the vehicle is registered，" Qi said. Since 2022， his team has issued 432 notifications of this kind， using the warnings as a deterrence， and leading to a decrease in the number of violations.

Qi has been innovative in traffic management since he assumed his position as the head of Tongye Brigade in 2014.

It is a challenge for Qi and his team， and involves a heavy workload to ensure safe and smooth traffic flow on their expressway section. In the past few years， Qi has invited his team members to launch intensive campaigns to improve traffic order. By using "high-tech methods with police force" and an approach labeled "remote monitoring plus on-site real-time punishment"， they have managed to make progress in rectifying traffic disorder， violations and accidents. The multiple inspection techniques they created， such as "security checks on accident-prone vehicles through images"， "traffic violation remedy through acoustic， optical and electronic guidance"， and the "AR integrated platform"， have been hailed by insiders as a new benchmark for the accurate identification and scientific correction of traffic issues. These methods have been adopted by the entire provincial police force.

In 2020， Qi actively invited a local insurance company and the expressway operator to set up a comprehensive police workstation in the Shijiazhuang South Service Area. The workstation enables collaboration between the traffic police and other parties of the transportation law enforcement department， the insurance company and the fire department. Once an emergency is reported to the traffic police， the multiple parties can respond together. The combined resources of all the parties means a one-stop service. For instance， with the services by the transportation law enforcement department available at the police workstation， Qi's team has greatly boosted their traffic management efficiency.

On August 17， 2021， a sedan had a rear-end collision with a methanol-loaded vehicle near the 620-kilometer marker on the Qingdao-bound side of the Qingdao-Yinchuan Expressway. The accident left one passenger injured and the rear end of the methanol-loaded vehicle damaged， with the threat of a dangerous leak. In response to the emergency， the command center of the Tongye Brigade immediately contacted the fire department near the accident site. Both teams rushed to the scene in only 20 minutes and eradicated the risk of a leak before they led the vehicle out of the expressway.

Wholehearted Service

On April 15， Qi's team received a report that a car in the parking lot of the service area had its paintwork scratched by another vehicle. After confirming the situation， Qi and his colleagues immediately hurried to the scene to investigate. Through inquiries and analyses， they fixed their gaze on a suspected truck and contacted the driver. The truck driver admitted his fault and sent  the compensation to the car owner. The entire process from the report to the compensation receipt took less than one hour. "Many thanks to you for helping me get compensation in such a short time，" said the car driver gratefully.

"Minimizing the time dealing with a traffic accident is one of our team's strong points. Vehicles on the expressway are mostly on long-distance travel and eager to reach their destinations as soon as possible. That's why I always require my team to deal with an accident as quickly as possible. Don't put off what you can do on the spot， or what you can do today until tomorrow，" Qi says to his staff repeatedly. "People's cares and concerns are our business. We should put ourselves in their shoes to settle their concerns and meet their urgent needs."

Being attentive to details while taking meaningful action is the underlying idea that guides the daily work of Qi's team. In December 2021， over 1，000 vehicles were stranded by heavy snow on the expressway. Worried about the safety of drivers and passengers， Qi and his colleagues provided them with hot food and water. As the weather improved， Qi and his teammates drove their police cars to guide these vehicles through the snow-stricken section safely.

Biting wind， strong exhausts， annoying noise…. No matter the weather or conditions， Qi and his team works tirelessly， sometimes for a dozen hours a day， to ensure that traffic flows safely.

"To guarantee the expressway traffic safety， we are willing to work harder and can't afford to slack off even just a little bit，" Qi says. "Any accident on the expressway could be painful， so we must make every conceivable effort to ensure the safety of every single vehicle."

At midnight on December 10， 2022， a truck registered in Shanxi broke down on the Shijiazhuang section of the Qingdao-Yinchuan Expressway. With the truck coming to a halt on the emergency lane and unable to start again， the driver was frantic with worry and at a loss of what to do. Qi was on patrol at that time and hurried to the driver when he came across the truck. After a brief exchange， Qi learned that the breakdown resulted from high water temperature in the engine caused by a leak from the truck's radiator. However， the nearest service area was still 10 kilometers away. Under Qi's guidance， the driver fetched a huge bucket of water from the service area. After refilling the radiator， Qi led the truck out of the expressway for repair and avoided a potential traffic accident.

"As a Party member and police officer， I will continue， in higher spirits， a more down-to-earth attitude， and higher standards of discipline， to dedicate myself to guarding the expressway section in our jurisdiction. With concrete actions， I will set a new benchmark for what expressway traffic police officers should be like in the new era，" says Qi.

Personal Profile：

Qi Long

Born in November 1977， Qi Long is from the Han ethnic group and a member of the Communist Party of China. He is now head of Tongye Brigade at the Shijiazhuang Branch of the Expressway Traffic Police， part of the Hebei Provincial Public Security Department. He was ranked as an outstanding Party member， Party worker and civil servant many times， granted the "National May Day Labor Medal" in April 2023， and honored with medals of merit three times.■

About the writer：

Zang Xinmao， Publicity Office of the Department of Public Security of Hebei Province

（Translated by Zhang Yanzhou ）