China's Drivers Stick It To The Police

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

In the alleged police state China, speeders are not hunted down by testosterone-driven cops. Hey get fined through the mail. A system the Chinese have copied from Europe. Some Chinese have taken to using a little camouflage.

Some drivers use toothpaste. This lady used a sanitary napkin on her Mini. It did not take long for this trend to be commercialized in utterly capitalist China. Carnewschina reports the emergence of license-plate-number stickers that subtly and surreptitiously alter the original.

The stickers can be bought at car markets for as little as 5 yuan (80 cents U.S.) each. The standard traffic-fine in China is a modest 200 yuan ($32). The penalty for using the stickers however can be more painful: Up to 15 days in (an, ouch, Chinese) jail, 1800 yuan fine, and the driver’s driving license will be revoked.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 13 comments
  • LALoser LALoser on Apr 01, 2012

    ....*alleged*.....*utterly capitalist*....

  • The Comedian The Comedian on Apr 02, 2012

    I like that the "F" and the 8 are upside down in the packaging. I wonder if is an uncontrolled process or some Engrish that flipped them?

    • See 1 previous
    • Davemh10 Davemh10 on Apr 02, 2012

      @redsweater Also, can anyone on this blog tell me why my new car has a 710 spout? That is obviously where you put the 710 fluid. (oil) I actually had a customer who lost her "710" cap and came in and asked for one by name.

  • ToolGuy I read through the Tesla presentation deck last night and here is my take (understanding that it was late and I ain't too bright):• Tesla has realized it has a capital outlay issue and has put the 'unboxed' process in new facilities on hold and will focus on a 'hybrid' approach cranking out more product from the existing facilities without as much cost reduction but saving on the capital.They still plan to go 'all the way' (maximum cost reduction) with the robo thing but that will be in the future when presumably more cash is freed up.
  • FreedMike Buy tech that doesn't work right? Okey dokey.
  • KOKing I saw a handful of em around launch, I think all pre-release or other internal units, and a couple more in the past couple of months, but I think I've seen far more retail Fisker Oceans at this point. Given the corporate backing, I suspect they'll be able to hang around longer than Fisker, at least.
  • EBFlex “Tesla’s first-quarter net income dropped a whopping 55 percent”That’s staggering and not an indicator of a market with insatiable demand. These golf cart manufacturers are facing a dark future.
  • MrIcky 2014 Challenger- 97k miles, on 4th set of regular tires and 2nd set of winter tires. 7qts of synthetic every 5k miles. Diff and manual transmission fluid every 30k. aFe dry filter cone wastefully changed yearly but it feels good. umm. cabin filters every so often? Still has original battery. At 100k, it's tune up time, coolant, and I'll have them change the belts and radiator hoses. I have no idea what that totals up to. Doesn't feel excessive.2022 Jeep Gladiator - 15k miles. No maintenance costs yet, going in for my 3rd oil change in next week or so. All my other costs have been optional, so not really maintenance
Next