New students at middle schools in Nanjing will have to pass tests and be licensed if they want to ride bikes to school, a local newspaper reported on Monday.

Student cyclists who are caught breaking traffic laws more than three times in a semester will not be considered for the annual "Three-Good Students" awards, the Modern Express reported. The awards are given to students in China who achieve good levels in moral standards, study and physical exercise.

The program organized by Nanjing's education authority and traffic police is intended to increase road-safety awareness among students. As with driving license tests, students will have pass a written examination and then a practical road test focusing on their behavior at intersections.

A trial of the program in Nanjing, the provincial capital of Jiangsu, last year led to a sharp decrease in the number of road accidents and traffic violations involving student cyclists, Zhang Xiaodong, a traffic police official in Nanjing, told the newspaper. "Traffic police are in charge of the actual tests," Zhang said. "Student cyclists will have to carry their licenses with them anytime they ride on the city roads."(2008-09-02 07:20:30     Shanghai Daily)