The year end festivities are in full swing.
Besides the Baijiu, there’s a good chance that Champagne and wine will flow in large quantities.
I’d say enjoy the moment with friends, business partners and family but be aware of driving a car in China while the alcohol is rushing through your veins.
China has a ZERO tolerance to alcohol when sitting behind the wheel!
The risk is real that you get caught & if that happens there might be serious problems in the air.
If the alcohol test reveals you’re slightly drunk: 6 of your 12 yearly allocated points on your license will be taken away. On top of that you’ll have your license retracted for 1 to 3 months. If you’re a 2nd time offender in the same year, you’ll loose your license for 3-5 years.
However if the test reveals that you’ve been imbibing yourself to a level where you’re practically rolling out of the car, Chinese justice will be pretty severe to the driver who had a fun night out.
As an expat you’ve still a choice of sorts: Receive a 1 week notice to leave the country and NOT come back for at least 2 years or face up to two weeks in a Chinese jail.
It doesn’t matter if you’re working in China or not: the Chinese Justice system is pretty strict on this point.
One foreigner, ex-customer thought that since he was based in China & his career would take a dive if he had have to leave China, decided that the jail option was pretty obvious.
Thinking that he would be treated differently from the local detainees he took the brave decision to live behind bars for 15 days. Sadly enough for him, he was not really prepared for what would come next. This wasn’t a place where only drunken drivers ended up. A whole compilation of criminals crowded the prison.
What happened to him in the rooms, showers & corridors left him with scars for the rest of his life.
Soon after leaving prison, he flew out of China never ever to come back.
At least he had a choice that so many other drivers didn’t have.
We hope you’ll act responsibly and don’t endanger your & other people’s life.
Remember don’t drink & drive, ‘cause you might loose more than you wish for.
PS:
- - In case you drive under influence & kill someone, chances are pretty much in favor of you going to jail for a long period of time.
- - In case of several casualties while drunk driving will pretty much bring you to the gallows.
- - By now I hope you’ve been warned enough.
