Drunken drivers' passengers face fines
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People who willingly catch a ride with a drunken driver could face fines under a new proposal.
Released on Saturday, the proposal also toughens the controversial "light" penalties for drunken driving and lowers the threshold for allowable blood-alcohol content.
The move is China's latest effort to combat drunken driving following a two-month "zero tolerance" nationwide campaign ahead of the National Day holidays.
The effort, however, is not without its critics.
"Granted, there are people who drink with the driver, or convince the driver to drink. But some people don't drink and don't ask the driver to drink either," said Sun Jindong, a veteran online commentator.
Sichuan-based Tianfu Morning Post quoted an anonymous traffic officer as saying that with no specific regulations in place, it would be extremely difficult to collect evidence under the proposed revisions.
"Many passengers will just say they have no knowledge of how much the driver drank, or whether they drank at all," the officer said.
Under the tough proposals against drunken drivers, a driver's license could be suspended for one to three months if a driver is found to have a blood-alcohol content between 20 mg and 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood.
Driving while under the influence of alcohol is now a criminal offense only when an injury or death is caused. The law stipulates that a drunken driver who kills is only guilty of negligence and should get no more than seven years.
China's traffic laws were last amended in 1997.
