First motorist to defy Shanghai noise ban faces heavy penalties
When a man surnamed Jiang buzzed through downtown Shanghai streets on his motorcycle on the early morning of December 1, he was not aware that police sonar had sounded him out.
Shanghai Daily reported earlier that the man became the first to be caught by the police after the noise ban in Shanghai came into effect that day.
Shanghai traffic police said on Tuesday that Jiang, because of multiple traffic offenses, will be detained for 15 days and his license and motorcycle have been seized.
Jiang was fined 200 yuan (US$29) and lost three demerit points for violating the noise ban.
For running through red lights four times, Jiang was fined 200 yuan and lost six points for each offense.
For illegally modifying his motorcycle, he was fined 500 yuan. He was also found to be using a forged plate, for which he will be detained for 15 days and have his license and motorcycle seized, besides being fined 5,000 yuan and losing 12 further demerit points.
Since Jiang was using a plate from Zhejiang, Shanghai police said they sought assistance from their colleagues in that province to investigate.
In total, Jiang was fined 6,500 yuan, with 39 points deducted from his license.
In China, losing 12 demerit points means a driver has their license revoked and needs to take a written test to get it back. Those who lose over 24 points in a one-year period need to take a driving test as well.
From the beginning of this month, passenger vehicles with fewer than nine seats are restricted to a noise level of 80 decibels. Violators will be fined 200 yuan, with three points deducted from their driver’s licenses. Noisy motorcycles are banned from roads between 9pm and 7am.