This kind of congestion is neither deliberately caused by the owners themselves, nor deliberately caused by the highway management department
Recently, a traffic accident occurred near the Danfeng toll station in the Shangluo section of the Shanghai-Shaanxi Expressway, due to serious congestion, many car owners have passed the free period of high-speed traffic when they leave the station, and finally they have been charged the whole road fare. Some netizens feel that they are too "wronged", and even some netizens have put forward some suggestions for solving. 5 km out of the station takes 8 hours, miss 12 o'clock, should I charge the whole journey? This topic has sparked a heated discussion on the Internet.
As an ordinary car owner, the author also hopes to enjoy the high-speed free offer. However, the author also knows that in the context of the current high-speed still charging, it is rare to be able to enjoy a short period of free during some holidays. Rather than discussing "injustice", what should be paid more attention to is whether the current highway free policy is unfair and unreasonable, which needs to be further improved.
According to the relevant policies, the deadline for the domestic highway toll exemption is 24:00 on February 6, after which the owner of the highway will pay all the tolls for the highway in accordance with the regulations. That said, this offer is not something that everyone will necessarily get, and if the owner does not get on the highway during that time, this policy has nothing to do with it. This is also a conditional benefit, that is, the owner must get off the highway before the policy-stipulated toll-free deadline, otherwise the fee will be paid. Therefore, whether we can enjoy free benefits depends on whether we meet the conditions.
It should be said that as a high-speed free policy that has been implemented for many years, this preferential treatment has been known to the vast majority of car owners, the treatment is fair, the operation is very simple, and unnecessary trouble can be avoided.
Specifically, when it comes to the problem of not being able to get off the highway in time due to traffic congestion, it is necessary to analyze the reasons for this result. In fact, the time period stipulated by the high-speed free policy is a national statutory holiday. For some car owners, whether it is free or not, there is a demand for high speed. The implementation of free is not a pleasure for all car owners who have high-speed demand. Therefore, on the first and last day of high-speed free, traffic congestion is a common fact. This kind of congestion is neither deliberately caused by the owner himself, nor is it deliberately caused by the highway management department, so it can only be at his own risk.
Article 1176 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China stipulates: "If a person voluntarily participates in a cultural or sports activity with a certain risk and is harmed by the acts of other participants, the victim shall not request the other participants to bear tort liability, except where the other participants have intentionally or grossly negligently committed the occurrence of the damage." "This kind of self-risking principle should be the same on the issue of high-speed and free." As netizens said, "Everyone knows why they are still stuck"? If you have enough risk awareness and reserve enough time for yourself, this kind of "wrong" can actually be avoided.
As a rule, as long as it is open, transparent, and universal to all, it has achieved maximum fairness. As for rationality, it can always only be a relative concept. Admittedly, as netizens suggested that "if you can't get off the highway at 12 o'clock, you can close the nearest high-speed port", it seems that this offer can be more humane, or it can be worthy of reference by relevant parties, but it is not easy to implement it specifically. For example, how long after 12 o'clock to get off the highway is reasonable, because the traffic jam can enjoy a certain degree of "relaxation", if you encounter other conditions in the future, should you also consider it as appropriate? The result could lead to more disputes.
Children under 1.2 meters can use public transportation for free, will children who have just reached 1.2 meters feel "wronged"? If you switch from completely "looking at height" to mainly "looking at age", is it necessarily feasible to require children to bring id cards? Will there be frequent loss of identity cards?
Any rule is the result of a game of interests. Wishful thinking for changes also brings new risks and new problems. The best way is to improve your risk awareness and give yourself more risk responsibility under the premise of being familiar with the existing rules of the game.
Red Star News Special Commentator Deng Xiaobing (Professor, Lanzhou University Law School)
Edited by Wang Yaotao
Red Star Review Submission Email: [email protected]
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