On Friday at around 2 pm, a 60-some-year-old driver in Yantai, Shandong province lost control of his car, veered onto the other side of the street and plowed into a team of about 20 cyclists from Jinan. Five died and at least three were injured. The aftermath, as you see in the above compilation by a user named “fox,” is not pretty. Youku video (slightly longer) for those in China after the jump. You can also check out this, shot on a camera phone by someone in a bus (948,000 views so far).
UPDATE, 8:49 pm: According to Qilu (Shandong) Evening Paper, the man was 69 years old and claimed he suffered from vertigo. As translated by chinaSMACK:
“The law states explicitly, those who suffer from vertigo absolutely may not operate automobiles,” explains one of the people working with the Jinan police. According to the Public Security Bureau’s “Law of Motorized Vehicle Licensing and Use” those who are inflicted with heart disease, epilepsy, Ménière’s disease, vertigo, and other disorders that influence the function of extremities and prevent safe driving may not receive a driver’s license. “If you comply with the health standards and are issued a driver’s license, but develop a condition later, you should apply to cancel your driver’s license immediately.”
…Lawyer Wang Wei of the Shangdong Qianshun Law Firm says, the driver can not be relieved of responsibility by blaming his vertigo, because the law is clear on the matter. If the driver purposely hid the fact that he had vertigo [to get his license] and drove anyway, and the accident was really caused by his vertigo, then he definitely has to take responsibility.
…The police explain, according to the “Law of Motorized Vehicle Licensing and Use,” all drivers of motorized vehicles over the age of 60 must undergo one physical examination a year and submit the physical examination results to a county-level or higher government medical organization within 15 days of the examination. “This law is obligatory, there is no room for negotiation,” explains the Jinan police.
…Whether or not the 69-year-old driver had submitted his annual physical exam results, the police did not say.
Also, he was driving a Lexus, if that matters to anyone.
And the really pathetic thing is it wasn’t even some ignorant peasant but an obviously rich person with a brand-new automobile (who probably paid a bribe to avoid the driving test and get a license through the back door).
I’ve seen plenty of peasants driving BMW’s and Mercedes. Plenty of uncouth, uncultured, unrefined Chinese from the countryside with money.
I don’t even want to think about how many they’d go through if they started ghost bikes.
That said, it might be a good idea.