Driver must pay 260 yuan a day

A 19-year-old who committed 21 traffic offenses in eight days in a hired car has been ordered to pay the rental company 260 yuan (US$38) a day from February 20, as the car could not be leased to others, Xuhui District People's Court said on Wednesday.

The man, surnamed Wu, who had just obtained his license, decided to rent a car to “practice driving.”

But between February 1 and 9, he violated the company’s contract by driving out of Shanghai. During this period, he broke traffic rules 21 times in Suzhou, Yancheng and Huai'an in Jiangsu Province with offenses that included speeding, jumping red lights, driving in the wrong lane and making illegal turns.

He was fined 4,100 yuan and had 125 points deducted from his license.

When the company became aware, it called Wu and messaged him several times as well as sending him notifications asking him to pay the fine, but there was no response. 

On April 12, the company took Wu to the court saying that because under China’s traffic laws the car was not allowed on the road until the fine was paid, it had suffered losses.