Devised by a Chinese police department in one region in Hong Kong, authorities have begun punishing drivers who abuse their high beams. The punishment constructed is to force the driver to sit in a chair in front of a car, and to shine the high beam head lamps at the driver for a one minute period. The miscreant driver is not allowed to close his or her eyes during the torturous experience.
The punishment has been devised by Shenzhen Traffic Police, who have sought to add to the humiliation for the driver by posting photographs onto the official police Weibo account.
The pictures reportedly show different people sitting on a green chair, with the chair positioned so that it faces a parked car directly. The car has its full beams enabled and the beam is directed towards the face of the person in the chair.
According to UPI, the posts come with the inscription: “Tonight we are carrying out punishments using a high beam.”
In addition to the light experience, drivers are fined the equivalent of $44 (300 yuan) if they are caught having turned on their full beams while driving and where there are cars moving in the opposite direction.
Social media trends suggest the punishment is popular, suggesting the police have done a good job in punishing those who break traffic rules. For example, a poll on the mainstream Sina news portal found that 90 percent of people approved.
There is opposition, however, according to the BBC. Some people are concerned that the punishment could seriously damage eyesight, with some on social media declaring: “This is a human rights violation”. Others have expressed concerns about putting already-bad drivers back out on the roads in a dazed and confused condition.
It is unknown whether other Chinese police forces intend to take up the unusual form of punishment.