Expats Weigh in on Beijing's Tougher Drunk Driving Laws

Every year, drinking and driving kills innocent people all over the world. Beijing has had 200,000 reported cases of drunk driving over the last five years. While it's not always possible to convince people to drink responsibly, tougher laws can deter would-be drunk drivers.

In China, May 1 marked a firm start to stricter laws and harsher consequences. But how much difference will stricter laws make? And how do China's new laws compare with those in other countries?Andrea Hunt has more:

In the past, drinking and driving in China could mean license revocation for one to six months. Now, the same offense could cost drivers their precious license for five years. And, causing a serious accident could mean never driving again.

Starting May holiday, Chinese authorities have been stepping up arrests and road blocks to sway drunken party goers from getting behind the wheel. For many local drivers, these new laws may be a drastic change. But many local expats used to stricter laws at home are welcoming the new restrictions.

Mine Bilgin is from Turkey. She has lived in Beijing the last few years. She's already leery of Beijing's traffic and worries about her son's safety in the street.

"For me, it's very serious. The rules are very hard here when you use alcohol and you're driving, it must be like that. And I really support it; you really play with people's lives."

Stephanie Eymar from France says without strict laws, people everywhere simply go over their limits.

"Yes, I think, I would say drinking in China is a big problem. Because we have seen they drink a lot and are very drunk always. Whereas in France, it's more strict. Here, the police and the government are not very strict about alcohol. Here, there are a lot of 'open bars' and its' not expensive, only thirty Yuan. In France, it's been forbidden for the last few years."

In France, the law imposes extremely heavy fines and prison sentences for anyone causing fatal accidents while under the influence. But Julian Magallon says this has its ups and downs.

"It's a problem because in France, you really can't have even a drop of alcohol. They pretend that you can have maybe a glass. It's not zero, but it's 0.3 or 4, so basically, you just can't drink at all. Drinking in France is a social thing with wine and stuff so it's kills a bit the whole atmosphere. And so people go out less and less, so that's pretty much the problem".

Here in Beijing, this may not affect nightlife since taxis are plentiful. And designated driver services do exist. But Jaukmlan Jumenbayar from Mongolia says many intoxicated people don't want to leave their cars. They need more serious incentives.

"China has a big population. When they do something new, they do it very hard, they make them do it. Not like, 'There's a new law.' The only way is to force them to do it and they will."

In his home country of England, David Clayton says other methods make drivers think twice about taking the risk.

"They have spot checks. If you are involved in a traffic accident, the first thing they do is breathalyse you whether you've been drinking or not."

Now, they are doing the same here. Beijing checkpoints catch random drunk drivers. A person with an alcohol level of .08 is considered drunk and faces detention until sober. After that, their license can be taken away for a period of five years.

What's more, perpetrators could be given a criminal record.

Some expats are skeptical about the new law. Others see the arrest of famous Chinese pop star, Gao Xiaosong as an example of what's to come. Gao's recent accident in Beijing's Dongzhimen area led to a 4,000RMB fine, 6 months detention and license revocation until 2016.

Jumenbayar says this arrest shows that these new, stricter laws will make a difference.

"Last few days, the Chinese government has been searching the drivers in the evening quite commonly. In each second and third ring road, they've been driving policemen, checking the drivers, make you drive and load in the machine and check it. And if you get caught drinking and driving. And if you get caught you get 15 days in jail. And nowadays, even the Chinese domestic stars like actors, singers, even they got caught. So, it's getting more and more common. So, the Chinese government is getting high level enforcement to this."

There is no fool proof way anywhere to deter people from drinking and driving. But Jumenbayar hopes stricter laws in Beijing can make drunken people think twice before getting behind the wheel.

For CRI, I'm Andrea Hunt.