According to police statistics, in 2010 in China, 526,000 people were detained for drunk driving — 68% more than the previous year. Such drivers accounted for more than half of all fatal accidents recorded in the country. As Automotive News China reports, citing the press service of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, in 2010 there were 3.9 million accidents on China's roads, and every nine minutes one person dies in a traffic accident in the country.

Trying to stop the epidemic of drunk driving, Chinese authorities are tightening laws. China is one of the few countries where driving under the influence can result in a life sentence: such punishment threatens a driver if he becomes the culprit of a particularly serious accident. For example, last year, a 31-year-old resident of Shanghai, who caused an accident that took the life of a father and his little daughter, was sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of $560,000. Even a positive alcohol test result provides for six months in prison and a five-year driving ban.