14 DAY TRIAL // The photo next to this article hit the online community just a few days ago. It is now growing in popularity, and, all things considered, drivers are probably the ones who are taking care of making it go viral.
The photo was shared with the world by police officers in the city of Shenzhen in China, who posted it on their official account on Sina Weibo, a website best described as a Chinese version of Twitter.
For those who are having trouble believing their eyes, the picture shoes a man sitting on what appears to be a teeny tiny stool and staring at a pair of really bright headlights. Even more surprisingly, the headlights belong to a police car.
As detailed by Metro, the man, whose identity has not yet been shared with the public, was forced to stare at the bright headlights for about 5 minutes in a row by police officers in the city of Shenzhen.
Apparently, he was put in this uncomfortable position in order to experience first-hand what being blinded by light feels like and learn why it is never OK to turn one's headlights on full beam and dazzle other drivers.
This might come as a shock to those who work under the assumption that law enforcement is all about serving and protecting but, as it turns out, the man in the photo was not the first to have until now been abused in this manner in China.
On the contrary, word has it that forcing drivers to stare at bright lights is how police officers in this country will from now on educate the public about the dangers of turning one's headlights on full beam.
“From now on, traffic police will make those found carelessly using bright lights to look at them for five minutes. It is an appropriate experience,” reads the message accompanying the now controversial photo on Sina Weibo. For some reason, the message ends with a laughing-face emoticon.
As if having to stare at a set of headlights for 5 consecutive minutes were not enough to make people seriously reconsider whether or not owning and driving a car is all that is cut out to be, it looks like other punishments await those who break traffic laws in China.
Thus, drivers found guilty of dazzling motorists with their headlights risk being made to pay a £30 (approximately €37.5 / $50.3). These folks should also expect having to listen to a lecture on traffic safety and proper headlights use. Needless to say, the lecture is to be delivered by police officers.