Don't touch the steering wheel after drinking, including electric bikes and "just moving the car", and don't lend your car to anyone who has been drinking or has no license

Cost

A designated driver or a taxi costs a few dozen CNY. Before a get-together, agree on who is not drinking today. The hard part is pushing back when people pressure you to drink.

What you get

Driving after drinking brings a 6-month suspension of the driver's license and a fine of 1,000 to 2,000 CNY. For a repeat offense, detention of up to 10 days (拘留) and revocation of the license. Drunken driving (醉驾) means immediate revocation of the license, no retaking the test for 5 years, and criminal liability for the crime of dangerous driving (危险驾驶罪): criminal detention (拘役, a short-term custodial sentence) plus a fine. Drivers of commercial vehicles (营运车) are punished more heavily: for driving after drinking, 15 days of detention, a fine of 5,000 CNY and a 5-year driving ban; for drunken driving, a 10-year driving ban and never being allowed to drive a commercial vehicle again. If driving after drinking or drunken driving causes a major accident and amounts to a crime, the driving ban is for life. Commercial car insurance pays nothing for driving after drinking or taking drugs. In a residential compound or parking lot, short-distance drunken driving such as moving a car or parking it into a space may be treated as not a crime. But the license is still revoked, and you are still fined and detained as for driving after drinking. On an electric bicycle, the State Council's implementing regulations also say "no driving while drunk," and a violation brings a warning or a fine of 5 to 50 CNY. Handing a car to someone with no license, or whose license has been revoked or suspended, brings a fine of 200 to 2,000 CNY, and your own license can be revoked at the same time. When a car you lent out is in an accident, in principle the driver pays. But if you knew or should have known that he had been drinking or had no license and still gave him the car, the court finds you at fault and you pay part of the damages according to your fault. In a case the Supreme People's Court published in May 2026, the car owner knew that a person at the same table had been drinking and still handed him the car. The owner was ordered to pay jointly with the driver, within 40% of the damages (China)

Notes

Drunken driving is a criminal offense and leaves a criminal record, which affects the person's political background check and some professional qualifications. "Drinking" and "drunk" are separated by blood alcohol content, and the exact line is set by a national standard. This section has not verified that figure, so don't judge by feel which side you are on. The Road Traffic Safety Law (道路交通安全法) has no separate fine for handing a car to someone who has been drinking. Article 99 fines only handing it to someone with no license, or whose license has been revoked or suspended. The 2023 drunk-driving opinion issued jointly by the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Justice (两高两部) also has no provision specifically on providing a vehicle. The consequences here fall mainly on civil compensation.

Evidence grade

A : Specific numbers from meta-analyses, large cohorts or randomized trials; for law and policy, the statute or official text.

Sources

1. National People's Congress Standing Committee (2021). Road Traffic Safety Law [in Chinese] (2021 revision, Articles 89, 91 and 99). https://jtgl.beijing.gov.cn/jgj/jgxx/flfg/fl/205308/index.html (republished by the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau)
2. State Council (2004). Regulations for the Implementation of the Road Traffic Safety Law [in Chinese] (State Council Order No. 405, Article 72). https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2008-03/28/content_3745.htm
3. Supreme People's Court, Supreme People's Procuratorate, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Justice (2023). Opinions on Handling Criminal Cases of Dangerous Driving While Intoxicated [in Chinese] (Articles 12 and 20). https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/xwfbh/wsfbt/202312/t20231218_637161.shtml
4. National People's Congress (2020). Civil Code [in Chinese] (Article 1209). https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202006/t20200602_463888.shtml
5. Supreme People's Court (2020). Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Trying Cases of Compensation for Road Traffic Accident Damages [in Chinese] (2020 amendment, Article 1). https://gw.nscourt.gov.cn/nscourt/wzsy/swgk/sfwj/content/post_1473229.html (republished by the Nanshan District People's Court of Shenzhen)
6. Supreme People's Court (2026). The Supreme People's Court Releases Typical Cases on Compensation for Road Traffic Accident Damages [in Chinese] (Case 1). https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/499041.html
7. National People's Congress Standing Committee (2015). Amendment IX to the Criminal Law [in Chinese] (Article 8, i.e., Article 133-1 of the Criminal Law). https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/201802/t20180205_364562.shtml
8. Insurance Association of China (2020). Model Clauses for Commercial Motor Vehicle Insurance [in Chinese] (2020 edition, Articles 9 and 22). https://www.iachina.cn/art/2020/9/4/art_24_104621.html

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 8, tip 7. This section describes legal rules, mostly mainland China’s. It is general information, not legal advice; for your own case, talk to a lawyer. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer