A jaywalker at the crossroads of Yanping and Wuding roads yesterday afternoon.

JAYWALKERS will now have to pay a fine.

Shanghai traffic police have started to record jaywalkers’ names — they will walk away with warning the first two times but will have to pay 20 yuan (US$3) fine the third time.

The jaywalkers’ ID cards, passports or driving licenses will be scanned by the police on their handheld Personal Digital Assistant machine, which records all their personal information.

If the jaywalkers are unable to produce any identity documents, they will be asked their ID card or passport numbers, failing which they will be fined on the spot.

During the first two offenses, police will issue a legal paper indicating the time and place of the offense and the punishment marked “admonition.”

In the PDA, the previous offenses show up in the database, police said.

Last year, the traffic police installed cameras with facial recognition technology at several crossroads in the city to catch jaywalkers and publicly shame them by displaying their pictures on advertising screens at bus stops.

Maureen Yang, an office worker in Jing’an District, said she was caught earlier this month for not walking on zebra crossing, and had her ID scanned by the traffic police officer.

“I have become more careful now while crossing the road and have told my friends to do the same,” she told Shanghai Daily.

Song Haojie, a teacher in a middle school in the Pudong New Area, said he welcomed the latest effort by the traffic police.

“It’s impossible to stop jaywalking overnight,” Song said.

“But it at least helps make pedestrians aware of the rules — something that all traffic participants should be aware of.”