Police crack down on drunk motorists
Shanghai police have started a campaign to combat drunk driving as the holiday season approaches.
Authorities said they will set up roadblocks mainly at major roads, elevated road ramps, expressways and areas near restaurants and entertainment venues where drunk drivers are often found.
At the intersection of Changshou Road and Wuning Road in Putuo District at 9:30pm on Tuesday, police caught one intoxicated driver.
The motorist, a man surnamed Cao, was found with a blood-alcohol level of 145mg/100ml, surpassing China's drunk driving limit of 80mg/100ml.
Cao claimed that he drank a bottle of wine at a restaurant nearby and when he was unable to hire a ride back home he decided to get behind the wheel.
Cao has been detained and could face a criminal charge of dangerous driving, police said.
In Baoshan District, a motorist surnamed Li was found to be driving after drinking at a roadblock set up by police at the intersection of Yunchuan Road and Youyi Road W. at 9:05pm.
A breath test showed that Li had a blood alcohol level of 35mg/100ml, surpassing the 20mg/100ml threshold for driving after drinking.
Li claimed he drank a bottle of beer at a restaurant which is only 500 meters from his home, and didn’t expect to run into police.
In China, driving after drinking is a separate offense from drunk driving.
Li has been fined 1,500 yuan (US$214) and had 12 points deducted from his driving license, which will also be suspended for six months.
