Chauffeur companies in China are anticipating a boom in sales following new government legislation brought in this May which gives the authorities the power to imprison drink drivers.

With such a tough penalty for being caught behind the wheel while over the drink drive limit, drivers have been seriously deterred from committing a drink drive offence, spelling good news for the private hire chauffeur companies.

Dial-A-Chauffeur provider, Beijing Ben Ao An Da Automobile Driving Service, who offer stand-in chauffeurs for hire throughout the city, are predicting an increase in sales of 60% as a result of the new laws which carry a prison sentence for those convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol.

The Chinese authorities announced a clamp down of drink driving after noting an upsurge in the number of road traffic accidents reported last year. In 2010, figures revealed that there was a 36% increase in the number of accidents on roads in China bringing the total number to 3.9 million accidents over the course of the 12 months. In addition, 526,000 cases of drink driving were uncovered in 2010, which is an increase of 68% when compared to the previous year.

The stand-in chauffeur service is expected to be especially popular with business people in the city who have to socialise in the evenings for work purposes but who will no longer run the risk of getting behind the wheel after a drink for fear of being imprisoned following the new introduction of the new laws.