A driver with Didi Chuxing, a major ride-hailing app in the country, complained that a male passenger damaged his dashboard camera after he attempted to persuade other passengers sitting in the back seats to buckle up Saturday night. Nanshan police have stepped in to investigate the case, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported.
Based on the driver’s allegation, a family of four ordered a trip from Nanshan District to Bao’an District at around 9:40 p.m. The male passenger, who appeared to be the father, sat in the passenger seat, and his family sat in the back.
The male passenger seemed drunk as the smell of alcohol filled the car, said the driver, surnamed Chi. The driver then asked the passengers if he could open the windows to let fresh air in because the car-hailing company required all vehicles to be fresh without odor, but Chi’s request was denied by the male passenger.
Chi then told the other passengers in the back to buckle up. According to current traffic rules, drivers will be fined if their passengers do not fasten their seat belts.
“The male passenger started to get annoyed after I reminded his family to buckle up a few times and he even threatened to beat me,” said Chi.
The driver told the passenger that his car was equipped with a dashboard camera that could be directly connected to police. The male passenger then started to smash the on-board camera and the windshield.
Chi pulled over his car and called the police. “They got out of my car when they realized I was calling the police, and when I got out of the car to chase after them, they attacked me,” said Chi.
According to a copy of the police report provided by the driver, Chi made the report to the police at Shahe Police Station at 9:49 p.m., and the police filed the case for investigation.
Chi also lodged a complaint with Didi Chuxing, because he could not provide the male passenger’s phone number to the police as the contact number on the order was a virtual number to protect passenger’s privacy.
It cost Chi 2,627 yuan (US$384) to have his car’s windshield and dashboard camera repaired, according to a receipt. Chi said it was his obligation to tell the passengers to buckle up, as the traffic rules require, but he worried that the safety of drivers could be at risk.
Nanshan police are investigating the case. Didi Chuxing said they would assign special customer service staffers to follow up on the incident.