BEIJING — Dangerous acts hindering the safe driving of public transport will be treated as a crime of “endangering public security with dangerous methods”, according to a new guideline issued by authorities.

Acts include “wresting navigation equipment such as a steering wheel or gear lever and attacking and pulling drivers”, the official document notes, vowing heavy penalties for acts like “assaulting a public transport driver with a weapon”.

If a public transport driver has a dispute with a passenger, and the driver fails to adhere to safe driving rules or engages to fight the passenger, he or she will also be punished for committing a crime of “endangering public security”, the guideline adds.

The document was jointly issued by the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security.

During a meeting on ensuring the safety of public buses held in Beijing from Jan 9 to 10, the Ministry of Public Security vowed to investigate any violent acts that hinder the safe driving of buses in China.

A fight between a driver and a passenger caused a bus to plunge into the Yangtze River and killed more than a dozen on board in Southwest China’s Chongqing municipality on Oct 28, 2018.