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Convicted drunken drivers to pay higher insurance rates

By Xin Dingding (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-25 13:38

Beginning next week, drunken drivers will face a new penalty of paying higher automobile insurance rates, a new measure to stem the deadly trend on the nation's roads.

Drivers found with a blood-alcohol content of more than 80 mg per 100 ml of blood will have to pay the motor vehicle accident liability compulsory insurance rate, which is 20 to 30 percent higher than the normal rate, according to a circular issued by the Ministry of Public Security and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

Those with a blood-alcohol content between 20 mg and 80 mg per 100 ml will see their rate increase by 10 to 15 percent. The cumulative total of the increase should not exceed 60 percent.

The measure is expected to heighten drivers' awareness of the high cost of drunken driving, the circular said.

The measure is another weapon in the fight against drunken driving, following a regulation issued in December.

The regulation stipulates that drunken drivers will have 12 demerit points stripped from their driving record, instead of the current six points, starting this April.

As each driver's record begins with 12 points, this means a driver will have his or her license confiscated by police, be forced to study traffic laws for a week and take an examination in order to regain the license.

"We will continue to crack down on drunken driving this year," said Liu Zhao, deputy chief of the traffic management bureau under the Ministry of Public Security.

A number of drunken driving accidents that killed and injured a number of people between June and August last year shocked the country and raised the public's worries about the deadly trend.

On June 30, real estate company boss Zhang Mingbao struck and killed five pedestrians, including a pregnant woman, in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

On Aug 4, a black Porsche Cayenne SUV mowed down waitress Ma Fangfang as she crossed a road in downtown Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province.

A special two-month "zero tolerance" campaign was carried out by the ministry against drunken driving, and a string of regulations were also issued to strengthen the penalty for driving under the influence of alcohol.

"Driving after drinking is quite usual but with these recent penalties, I will not dare drink and drive," Wu Jun, 40, said.

Experts are calling on people to take on a new lifestyle to reduce the chances of drunk driving.

"Designated drivers" are widely promoted in countries like the United States, and it is time to introduce it to China, where many people have no idea of it, said Luo Junyi, vice chairman of the Road Traffic Safety Association of China.

A designated driver is a person who either volunteers or is selected by the socializing group to remain sober throughout the evening, while others drink.

Two of three adults in the US have acted as designated drivers themselves or been driven by a friend who acted as a designated driver, said Frank Wang, vice president of InBev Asia Pacific.

China is a booming auto market, surpassing the US last year with an annual production of 13.79 million vehicles and an annual sale of 13.64 million vehicles.

China's cities are facing an increasing number of drunken driving cases. In Beijing, for example, traffic police detained 10,890 drunk drivers between 2007 and 2009.

Wang Kaihao contributed to the story