The Yangmingtan Bridge in Harbin, which was put into operation less than a year ago, collapsed yesterday. Despite the media uproar following this accident, China has seen 13 similar bridge collapses over the past five years.

It seems logical to conclude that the fast speed that is characteristic of China's construction boom has led to the increasing number of accidents on roads and bridges. But this theory shouldn't be seen as an excuse for these serious accidents.

On the other hand, there are also many bridges that have been used for several decades or even longer in China, while the reliability of both the technologies and the raw materials used in bridge construction ensures their safety. All of the bridge-collapse cases are all, without exception, the result of negligence. Specifically, the blame should be leveled at bad management and oversight during the construction process.

Whenever a bridge collapses, the public rapidly blames corruption as being behind the accident. People are growing angry at the government's inability to prevent a repeat of such tragedies.

Every local government also knows what a bridge-collapse means for them. Officials will be removed from their posts and some may end up in jail. Public opinion toward such negligent accidents is becoming hard to budge. The sad fact is that today, we are not in a position to completely end such "totally unacceptable" accidents, no matter what measures we might take.

Even though the government is on high alert for such cases, there are always negligent officials and some who seek to line their own pockets during large-scale infrastructure works.

Corruption is not the only reason for these serious accidents, though. Investigations into these accidents often end up in confusion about who is accountable, as the specific reasons behind the accidents can be very complex to root out.

Due to this, the punishment for such disasters has to be strengthened, so as to match a more effective and streamline construction market. Meanwhile, higher-level officials should be called to account for serious accidents.

Construction quality supervision officials indeed face higher risks compared with others, but this is a price they should be ready to pay.

Some say the bridge collapses make China lose face. That is not the most important thing. We must focus on and remember the lives lost, the resources wasted and the increasingly suspicious public attitude toward the government.

Concerning the efforts to prevent serious engineering accidents, China has seen strong incentives, both politically and socially, to deal with the issue. Now the key is we must turn these incentives into real action.