The city’s police announced the punishment on Tuesday, the state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
Shenzhen road police announced he novel punishment in their Weibo account (the Chinese equivalent of Twitter). According to their warning, "From now on, traffic police will make those found carelessly using bright headlights stare into them for five minutes." Offenders are also fined 300 yuan ($45).
深圳整治乱开远光灯：违者看灯1分钟#自己的灯光自己感受233 pic.twitter.com/0qgDA8bN6y
— 喵蛤蛤+1s (@FrogSAMA_1s) 2 ноября 2016 г.
One might think that it was a joke, but the post includes a photo of a driver getting his punishment.
Surprising as in may seem, the initiative has received generally positive feedback from Chinese internet users. “I feel like I’m seeing the light of God whenever my eyes are flashed by the high beam lights of BMWs on traffic lanes,” one user wrote on Weibo.
深圳整治乱开远光灯：违者看灯一分钟 https://t.co/aquwPXLBcO 强烈要求全国推行！ pic.twitter.com/ssrSUxstJW
— Ken Wong (@KenWong_) 2 ноября 2016 г.
Some said the punishment did not go far enough. "Full-beam headlights are evil. I suggest they extend the stare time to 30 minutes, splitting it into three time periods, and let people take a 60-second break in between," wrote another Weibo user.
Media in China have previously reported on several accidents in which people died after drivers were dazzled by bright, full beam headlights.
【建议全国推广。。半小时起跳】深圳交警今晚整治乱开远光灯，查到就坐这把“绿椅子”，好好体验一分钟 https://t.co/6ZnRhSlMxd pic.twitter.com/ZTvzf7rs10
— 今日热点 (@lvv2com) 1 ноября 2016 г.
