Tailgating is generally considered an aggressive driving behavior, but one man did it for a completely different purpose, and disrupting traffic in a completely different way.
In the Chinese city of Mianyang in Sichuan Province, a father was seen driving slowly on a busy road behind his 1-year-old son who was driving a toy car. The two were blocking the lanes, causing other cars to pass around them and drive into the opposite side of the road. After local police received reports from witnesses, they fined the man 200 yuan ($30), according to major Chinese online news outlet KNews.
On May 3, traffic cameras revealed the father driving the white SUV in such a way that it was almost pushing the boy’s car. The SUV, with emergency blinkers flashing, crawls behind the child in the toy vehicle.
Toy Traffic Trouble
Traffic camera footage shows the father slowly driving on the right-side lane of a two-way road. The boy’s toy car can occasionally be seen in front of the father’s white SUV.As the pair approach cars parked against the right curb, the father drives halfway into the left-side lane, driving directly over the dashed line. Several cars pass around him, some by directly driving in the oncoming traffic lane.
While Guo drove behind his son, he said he considered other safety measures beyond the safety blinkers, such as using a remote control to help drive the boy’s car and also blocking incoming traffic with his own. It appears the boy is also wearing a white helmet in one of the images.
The police reportedly gave Guo a “critical education,” which is the equivalent of a loud-spoken slap on the wrist, or simply a warning. Guo was also given a fine of 200 yuan ($30).
The police also removed two of Guo’s driving points, a system of punishment used for drivers in China. Each driver has 12 points for a period of time, and if all of them are lost, then the person must attend driver’s school.
