The traffic police locked the car with a car locker. Photo by Chen Chen. A shop in Sanxiang Auto Parts City sells car lockers similar to those used by the traffic police. A woman, after being rejected for her request of an overnight stay from her lover, stole 20,000 yuan from him. Photo by Fu Xiaoping.
Reporters Fu Xiaoping, intern Li Qiaoling and Zhuang Lamei noticed that most of the car lockers sold by these merchants did not have the manufacturer's trademark or any instructions, making them "three-no" products (no production date, no quality certification, no manufacturer’s name).
On the streets of Changsha, reporters randomly asked many drivers, and most citizens said that even if the car lockers being sold were the same as those used by the traffic police, they would not consider using them.
"I won't buy it; using such a car locker is like deceiving oneself," said a 27-year-old Mr. Chen. "Even if the car locker is the same as what the traffic police use, if you park illegally, you still can't escape punishment."
In front of a store in Sanxiang Auto Parts City, a yellow disc car locker caught the reporter's eye. At first glance, it indeed looked similar to what the traffic police use. "Is this the same as what the traffic police use?" the reporter asked while walking over. Mr. Zhou, an employee at the store, said: "We sell this type of lock here, yellow ones, the same style as what the traffic police use. They come in different sizes, smaller ones for private cars, larger ones for big trucks. The small one costs 280 yuan, and the large one costs more than 400 yuan."
"There are car lockers used by the traffic police available for purchase in Sanxiang Auto Parts City, go take a look." Yesterday, a citizen informed the reporter that some merchants were aggressively selling so-called car lockers used by the traffic police, claiming that these lockers could confuse the traffic police and help avoid penalties for illegal parking. After investigation, the reporter found that all the lockers they were selling were "three-no" products.
"This is the car locker used by the traffic police," said the owner of an auto parts store on the third floor of Gaqiao Auto Parts City. He claimed that the 500 locks purchased by the traffic police this year were all bought from his store. "If you use this lock on your car, the traffic police definitely won't be able to tell the difference." He also demonstrated how to use it.
"In fact, this type of car locker isn't as secure as a steering wheel lock," said Mr. Xiong, the owner of a store in Gaqiao. Most buyers of this type of car locker are urban management officers, security guards, etc., who use them to maintain parking order. However, in terms of security, these lockers are not stronger than other types of locks. On the contrary, these car lockers are very inconvenient, with even the smaller ones weighing about 10 kilograms, making them quite cumbersome.
"Our car lockers all have our own serial numbers attached," said Officer Xu Xinyi from the Kaifu District Traffic Police Brigade, who was locking a black car parked illegally on Zhonglu Street yesterday.
Traffic police stated that it is impossible to deceive and escape penalties for illegal parking.
Citizens said that buying car lockers themselves is "self-deception, and they wouldn't buy them."
Merchants claimed that the 500 additional car lockers added by the traffic police were all purchased from their stores.
"On the sections of road we are responsible for, we know exactly which vehicles are violating the law," said Xu Xinyi. "It is impossible to evade punishment by using a car locker identical to ours." He explained that each section of road in Changsha has a dedicated traffic police officer responsible for monitoring it, and any illegal parking will be penalized.
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What makes the car lockers used by the traffic police different?
The traffic police mentioned that their car lockers are darker in color and are all produced by legitimate manufacturers. They do not use "three-no" products. It is impossible for citizens to deceive the traffic police using self-purchased car lockers because when the traffic police lock a car, they attach a traffic police notice and issue a violation notification. Before locking the car, the illegal parking scene and vehicle information are already recorded.
The reporter took a look and asked, "There are no instructions at all. Are these 'three-no' products? Are they reliable?" "They're all like this; there are no formal sellers! As long as it works, that's fine. We source our goods from Henan, where they have a warehouse set up here, and you can get supplies from there."
Last year, the Municipal Traffic Police Corps purchased and distributed 500 car lockers. This year, they have again newly purchased 500 specialized car lockers. After visiting over 20 stores in Gaqiao Auto Parts City and Sanxiang Auto Parts City, the reporter discovered that three or four shops were selling car lockers claimed to be identical to those used by the traffic police. All merchants claimed that the 500 additional car lockers added by the traffic police were purchased from their stores.