By IANS,
Beijing: Driving drunk in China is likely to cause serious repercussions for offenders, with the authorities contemplating a maximum penalty of revoking their licences for life in case of a serious accident.
The Chinese authorities plan to revoke drunk drivers’ licences for five years under a draft amendment being considered to China’s traffic safety law, China Daily quoted Legal Evening News citing sources Tuesday.
Apart from this, as per the draft amendment, they will not be able to apply for a new licence for five years. It also calls for raising fines four-fold, with 1,000 yuan ($153) as the minimum penalty.
However, if the drunk driving results in a serious traffic accident, the driver will be banned from driving for life, aside from other punishments.
The revision has been submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top legislative body, for a reading.
The revision is designed to better gel with China’s newly revised Criminal Law, which rules dangerous driving behaviour, such as drunk and reckless driving, will receive severe punishments.
Under the current law, drunk drivers are given a 15-day detention and temporary suspension of their driving licence for three months to six months as well as a fine ranging from 200 yuan ($30) to 500 yuan. Two violations in a year lead to revocation of driving licence.