Local police are boasting that a month long crackdown on traffic violators has reduced congestion on city streets. However, they are concerned about an increase in the number of officers being assaulted on the job.

The Shanghai General Team of Traffic and Patrol Police reported yesterday that vehicle speeds in July rose by an average 24.8 percent from June in six selected busy sites around the city, such as the Nanpu Bridge, the Dapu Road Tunnel and an elevated road exit at Fujian Road in Huangpu District.

"For the Yan'an Road E. Tunnel (anther major congestion site), we have added one lane for vehicles to get into directly from the nearby elevated road, assigned officers in the tunnel and installed new traffic signals since late last month," said Guo Ji, a spokesman for the team.

Those measures helped to cut the tunnel's rush hour by two hours, while the number of vehicle breakdowns dropped by 64 percent and in-tunnel accidents decreased 64.7 percent year-on-year, the spokesman said.

The city's ongoing crackdown of traffic violators also deserves credit for the improvements, said Guo.

Last month, police said they cited 3,652 drivers for violations on elevated roads, up 47.2 percent from a month earlier.

As a result, 1,230 drivers had their licenses confiscated, about 82 percent more than in June, police said.

Those tickets have sent a few drivers into fits of rage, however.

After the traffic and patrol police reported six officers were assaulted officers between August 12 and August 15, the Shanghai Public Security Bureau said two more cops were attacked last week.

In one of the cases on Wednesday, Chen Xu, a driver for Bashi Taxi Service Co, tried to flee from police after he was stopped for an illegal lane change at Chengdu Road N.

According to Fang Dinghua, a spokeswoman for the bureau, Chen suddenly started his taxi as the cop stretched his hand into the car window to take Chen's driver's license.

The cop was pulled by the car for about eight meters and ended up with bruises on his face, arm and foot.

The driver is currently under detention. Police in the city vow tough punishment for anyone who ignores or attacks an officer.

(eastday.com August 25, 2003)