First of all, there was this story in the Los Angeles Times – reporting how new drivers in China were being shown actual footage and photos of real accidents to shock them into being careful on the roads.
Zheng Hao watched a video titled “Care About Life: Follow the Traffic Rules”…
They were assaulted by 30 minutes of gruesome footage showing crushed cyclists, pedestrians flung into the air like rag dolls, charred human remains and victims’ families grieving hysterically.
“The women in the class were sobbing afterward,” said Zheng, 21. “Even the guys were disturbed.”
Compare this with those videos the DSA releases and it’s like comparing a Disney cartoon to a David Cronenberg horror movie. But I’m not knocking it – if it works, why hold back?
Then came this next story – actually from China (CCTV) – about new, tougher drink driving laws. They’re not approved yet, but if they are possible punishments include:
- permanent licence revocation
- higher fines
- imprisonment
At present, a convicted drink driver gets 15 days in prison and a 3-6 month ban. The story appears to say that current laws will revoke the licence permanently if someone is caught twice in a year.
The proposed amendment would see first time offenders have their licences revoked, and they wouldn’t be able to apply for a new license for 5 years. The fine would be tripled from the present figure to about £190 (I guess there is a cost of living factor – a mechanic would only earn about £80 a month – so it is a massive fine when you think about it).
The life ban would come into play if a serious accident resulted.
Good on the Chinese. Both the UK and the USA could learn from this.
(Going back to the original story, the shock videos have become macabre entertainment for the West).