On Tuesday morning, a gravely overloaded truck, weighing 170 tons, collapsed the Baihe Bridge in the Huairou district of Beijing. The truck driver is in police custody. According to the traffic control department, the 1,924 bridges throughout Beijing will soon be carefully examined for their safety and trucks running on the road will be checked for overload.

Nationwide, this is the third bridge collapse caused by overloaded trucks in only a couple of days. It shows that many bridges can no longer bear the weight of overloaded trucks and Chinese society can no longer endure the burden of the current transport industry.

It's no surprise when a bridge eventually collapses after being repeatedly traveled by overloaded trucks that weigh three times more than the bridge itself.

The Chinese government has just begun a new round of actions to fine drivers of overloaded vehicles.  However, reality shows that such punishment can't really solve the problem. 

According to CCTV  reports, truck drivers faced with high  road tolls, taxes, and oil prices can only earn a living by overloading their vehicles, even if they risk a fine. It's also reported that some drivers can get their trucks as heavily loaded as they want as long as they pay the fine.

Considering this, we may predict that as the fines, oil prices and road tolls continue to rise, drivers will load more goods on their trucks.

Therefore, instead of charging higher fines for overloaded goods, we may have to investigate the problem and find out the social reasons that lie behind it. 

The development of infrastructure, such as highways and bridges, has long been a symbol of Chinese economic achievements. However, the high administrative cost and monopolization have already weakened them. Without immediate action, it's hard to know how long these bridges can last.