Starting on the afternoon of March 1, the Beijing Municipal Public Security Traffic Management Department began "point-to-point delivery of traffic safety reminder messages to motor vehicle drivers or owners who had been recorded or penalized within one year for driving while making or answering hand-held phone calls and other driving-distracting behaviors." This was the first time the Beijing traffic management authorities launched a personalized reminder service targeting specific traffic law violators; in the first batch, a total of 1,764 vehicle drivers received reminder text messages.

By reviewing various traffic accidents caused by distracted driving in recent years, the Beijing Municipal Public Security Traffic Management Department found that many accidents were triggered by drivers making calls, answering calls, or checking and using hand-held phones while driving. In view of this, it relied on its traffic management SMS platform to carry out point-to-point publicity and education, sending safe-driving reminder text messages in a targeted manner to vehicle owners and persons handling violations. Once launched, this service was widely praised and hailed by netizens as "a thoughtful and considerate public service."

The report gave an example: on October 20 last year, Mr. Li was captured by an electronic surveillance camera while using his phone during driving, and was later fined 200 yuan and given 3 points on his license. On the evening of March 1 this year, he received a text message from @BeijingTrafficPolice. When he opened it, he saw a reminder: "Beijing Traffic Police reminder: While driving, drivers are requested not to make or answer calls or check and use hand-held phones. Refuse distracted driving, stay focused, drive safely, and travel courteously." This "reminder-style" notice made Mr. Li feel both surprised and warm.

In reality, after specific traffic law violators are punished according to law, have they all truly turned over a new leaf? As time passes, do some gradually let down their guard and repeat their old habits? These questions deserve attention and study. The traffic management authorities' sending of "customized" safety reminders and "point-to-point" warnings to specific traffic law violators, with efforts to strengthen their awareness of traffic law compliance, guard against risks and hidden dangers, and prevent traffic accidents, is a good thing for both the specific violators and society as a whole.

As of 2023, China's motor vehicle fleet had reached 435 million, and the total number of motor vehicle drivers had exceeded 500 million. A large number of past traffic accident cases show that making or answering calls or checking and using hand-held phones while driving means that a single moment of distraction can lead to an instant crash, at the cost of life and even plunging several families into deep suffering. In this sense, for traffic violations including distracted driving, in addition to vigorous rectification, it is also necessary to adhere to the principle of safety first and prevention foremost, and to continuously strengthen traffic safety publicity and education.

Admittedly, the "customized" safety reminders sent by the traffic management authorities are not a "miracle cure" for curbing traffic violations. However, every "tug at the sleeve" may help "remove the fuel from under the cauldron" of a potential traffic accident. The "customized" safety reminders sent by the Beijing traffic management authorities are highly targeted, like a spring breeze and gentle rain, quietly guiding specific traffic law violators to abandon bad traffic habits and leading a new trend of civilized traffic. At the same time, in the vivid practice of proactive and preventive policing, they vividly embody the idea of promoting the transformation of traffic safety governance toward ex ante prevention and demonstrate the sense of responsibility of "taking a step forward proactively."

Good ideas and good measures for preventing trouble before it occurs are worth summarizing and promoting. The Beijing traffic management authorities should also conduct in-depth investigation and research, communicate more with the broad community of drivers, and continuously optimize and improve on the basis of scientific evaluation of the effects of personalized services. The author has three suggestions: first, in order to make the reminder wording more touching within a limited number of characters, the traffic management authorities might hold a public prize-collection campaign, pool collective wisdom, fully absorb folk wisdom, innovate forms of expression, enrich publicity content, and make safety reminders more thoughtful; second, focus on key priorities, and for the small number of specific traffic law violators with multiple violations or serious circumstances, organize "face-to-face" education at appropriate times; third, improve dissemination carriers. In addition to text messages, they may also explore the use of MMS, WeChat, and other methods to provide reminder services with both text and images and with both sound and visuals, enhancing the effect of traffic publicity.

Persisting in starting with small matters and beginning with the sending of "customized" safety reminders, empowering public services through institutional innovation, and carrying this forward with the determination to "leave a mark when treading on stone and a trace when grasping iron," seeing things through to the end and doing them well, will inevitably link beads into a chain and gather sand into a tower, continuously improving the traffic safety publicity puzzle that combines "points, lines, and surfaces," promoting sustained improvement in the quality and efficiency of cleaning up and rectifying risks and hidden dangers, and, while continuously improving the quality of urban traffic, making the city more livable, safer, and better.