14 DAY TRIAL // Driving with heels on is not taken lightly in China. The Chinese born that the press knows as Xu is currently studying in the US and only returned to Nanjing for the summer. She recently found herself in an unfortunate car accident, managing to flip over her car but, at the same time, getting away unscathed. When policemen came to investigate the accident, however, she was the one fined.
The Haohaoreport states that she was driving without a license, while wearing 18 cm heels, and has received penalties for both offences. Chinese law actually stipulates that you are not allowed to drive in heels, unless they are under 4 cm in height. The fine was of only 50 yuan ($8 / €6,3), a small price to pay for being fashionable.
Driving without a license proved a lot more expensive. When asked to present a driver's license, she showed the police officer a college student ID from the US, claiming it was an American license, but to no avail. She was fined 1,000 yuan ($157 / €124,8).
It appears Xu is a serial offender, as this is her fourth serious accident this year. Every time, Chinese newspaper Want daily reports, she “barely has any clothes on,” and survives the crashes without a scratch.
After the more recent incident, this young lady has received a lot of press attention. Her pictures have appeared in the all major Chinese newspapers and pictures of her have been posted, reposted, liked, tweeted and shared many times, making her story quite famous.
Xu's Sina Weibo microblog has reportedly received 30 times more views than it usually would.
Some even say this is a cry for attention, and that Xu's outfit the night of the accident was meant to put her in the public eye, as she was anticipating a photo opportunity following the crash. The quest for 15 minutes of fame can make you do a lot of things, but flipping over your car in a potentially lethal crash to get attention seems a little extreme.