The new scheme will be used starting from March 1, according to a statement issued by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission last week. This measure has been taken to raise drivers safety awareness. The new scheme will be executed on a local basis, with punishment varying according to the location of the action.
To be more specific, a person who drives a vehicle after drinking but without being intoxicated, will have to pay an insurance rate increased by 10 to 15 percent for the year to come, as compared to the standard one – if this is the driver’s first incident. For the drivers who are caught driving while being intoxicated, the insurance rate will be increased by 20 to 30 percent as compared to the normal one in the following year. The highest increase, a serious value which can reach 60 percent compared to the normal one, will be applied for those who are repeatedly caught driving while they are drunk.
According to a survey performed by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security and cited by the aforementioned source, driving under the influence of alcohol is the biggest traffic hazard in China.
As China has become the world's biggest automotive market and also the world's No. 1 car-producing country in 2009, the authorities have to face more and more traffic-generated problems such as the aforementioned one.
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