29/04/2019
- Dangerous midnight speed drive fuelled by drinking and karaoke session
- High-performance cars seen switching lanes, driving on the wrong side of the road and running a red light
Two men have been detained in eastern China for racing their rented Porsche sports cars on city streets. Photo: Handout
An alcohol-fuelled midnight street race between two high-powered sports cars in an eastern Chinese city has landed two men in detention.
At one point, according to police in Zhuji, Zhejiang province, the rented Porsche cars hit 170km/h (105mph) as they tore through the city, randomly switching lanes, running a red light and even driving on the wrong side of the road.
A police investigation found the culprits had been drinking alcohol at a karaoke singing session before deciding to test their driving skills.
One of them, a 21-year-old university student surnamed Ying, had rented the yellow Porsche for a month for 20,000 yuan (US$3,000). The other man, a 24-year-old surnamed Jiang, had rented the white Porsche for a day at 800 yuan because he wanted to race his friend.
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Ying was arrested two days after the illegal race and confessed, the police statement said.
Local police started receiving calls from residents at around midnight on April 22, complaining at the loud racing going on through the streets.
In a statement on the WeChat social messaging app, police said footage from more than 10 security cameras showed a yellow Porsche and a white one chasing each other in a dangerous manner down a main road past a hospital and numerous residential compounds.
Speeding has been a criminal offence in China since 2011. According to Chinese law, “whoever races a motor vehicle on a road with execrable circumstances or drives a motor vehicle on a road while intoxicated shall be sentenced to criminal detention and a fine.”
Source: SCMP
Posted in China alert, Chinese city streets, drinking and karaoke session, High-performance cars, Jiang, Racers, rented Porsche sports ca, running a red light, switching lanes, Uncategorized, WeChat, wrong side of the road, Ying, zhejiang province, Zhuji |
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25/04/2019
- Stiff penalties like those given to drink-drivers needed to make people wake up to the risks, newspaper says
- Commentary comes after woman who died in high-speed crash is found to have used her phone 34 times in 30 minutes
The fatal crash in Fujian province was caught on surveillance camera and the footage was shown by Pearvideo.com. Photo: Weibo
The death of a woman in a high-speed car accident who is believed to have been sending messages on her phone at the time of the crash has sparked calls in the Chinese media for harsher punishments for reckless driving.
“Death or causing death as the result of driving when using a phone is a very serious consequence of people becoming slaves to mobile phones,” Beijing Youth Daily said in a commentary on Thursday.
“To reverse the harm caused by this behaviour, they must be punished in line with the punishments for drink-driving.”
The article came after Pearvideo.com on Sunday published footage from a surveillance camera of the fatal accident in southeast China’s Fujian province. The film shows the woman’s car speeding through a tunnel before veering on to the wrong side of the road and crashing into a wall. It then flips over and bursts into flames.
The victim is believed to have been using her phone at the time of the crash. Photo: Weibo
A police officer interviewed in the video said the driver, who was not identified, had not been wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident and had been observed speeding, cutting in and out of lanes and using her phone 34 times in just 30 minutes.
“I think all four factors contributed to her accident,” he said. “But the fundamental ones were speeding and using a mobile phone when driving.”
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The video report said the woman sent a total of 16 text and voice messages from behind the wheel, one of which said that she was driving at 120km/h (75mph).
While drink-driving is a criminal offence in China – with a maximum penalty of six months’ detention, loss of licence and a five-year ban – the top punishment for using a phone while behind the wheel is a 200 yuan (US$30) fine and the loss of two licence points. Drivers start with 12 points and can be suspended from driving if they lose them all.
The film shows the car crashing into a wall before flipping over and bursting into flames. Photo: Weibo
According to a Ministry of Transport survey cited by Beijing Youth Daily, people are 2.8 times more likely to have an accident if they make a phone call while driving and 23 times more likely if they look at their handset.
While the strict enforcement of drink-driving laws has helped to change motorists’ behaviour, using a phone behind the wheel is still widely regarded as acceptable behaviour, the commentary said.
“I don’t know how many disasters like the woman in Sanming [a city in Fujian] are needed to alert people,” it said.
“[But] amending the road traffic safety law to make [the offence of] driving while using a mobile phone equivalent to that of drink-driving and implementing corresponding penalties can … help to reduce the devastating consequences.”
A commentary on Gmw.com, the website of the official Guangming Daily newspaper, also called for the offence to be criminalised.
People know the risks but disregard them because the legal consequences are very small, it said.
Source: SCMP
Posted in Beijing Youth Daily, bursts into flames, China alert, crackdown, crashing into a wall, enforcement of drink-driving laws, fatal crash, flips over, Fujian, Fujian Province, Gmw.com, Guangming Daily, harsher punishments, Ministry of Transport survey, motorists, motorists’ behaviour, newspaper, Pearvideo.com, Police officer, reckless driving, Sanming, speeding, surveillance camera, Tunnel, Uncategorized, using her phone, using mobile phone, veering, wearing a seat belt, wrong side of the road |
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