A policeman writes a ticket to a driver in Nanchang City, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province, Jan. 1, 2013. The revised traffic regulation takes effect on Tuesday. According the new rules, 52 different sorts of violations can result in deducting points for punishment, up from 38 under the previous regulation. (Xinhua/Song Zhenping)
Chinese drivers face harsher penalties after a revised regulation came into effect on Tuesday, with many motorists being caught out.
Under the revision, ignoring traffic lights will result in six penalty points, double the previous punishment. The penalty for improper display of license plates is now 12 points.
According to the new rules, 52 different kinds of violations can result in penalties, up from 38 under the previous regulation. The new rules have been dubbed "the strictest traffic regulations ever" on the Internet.
Each violation is associated with penalty points, based on how severe the offence is. If a driver receives 12 points in a year, they are required to attend a seven-day training session and take a written exam before they can return to the road.
"On the first day of the revised road rules, I fastened my seat belt, no smoking and no phone calls. I gave way to a school bus with no students on it," said a Sina Weibo user with screen name "Suanpijimaoyujimaosuanpi".
Despite the new rules, various violations occurred on Tuesday among drivers and were exposed by Chinese netizens.
A car owner surnamed Wang in Lu'an county, Anhui Province who did not have a vehicle license plate, was fined 12 points, said local traffic police on Sina Weibo, a Chinese twitter-like microblogging service.
Copyright ©1999-2011 Chinanews.com. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
