CRI听力:Overtime Fee on Highways

While this time limit on highways is new to some drivers, one truck driver explains that he has experienced it first hand.

"If you spend more time than expected on highways, you will be asked to pay a fine. You have to pay at least double the usual fee. There was one time that I paid about 700 yuan for a highway toll."

Local media reported that one driver felt unwell and rested at a rest stop in Hebei province.

But when he woke up, he found that his 12 hour window had closed. After he got back on the road and was preparing to exit the highway, he was asked to pay about 380 yuan, about 60 US dollars, as an "overtime fee", in addition to the original 40 yuan highway toll. This amounted to approximately 10 times the usual fee that he had to pay before being able to exit.

In many places around the country, such fees are charged, but the amounts differ. Here is an employee with the highway office in Hebei province to clarify.

"I'm sorry, but we have an overtime fee policy in Hebei. The time span of staying on the highway is specified. Drivers cannot stay on the highway for more than 12 hours. And how much a driver has to pay is automatically calculated by our highway toll system rather than us."

Similar to that in Hebei, drivers are also required to pay overtime fee if they stay on the highway for more than 24 hours in Beijing. An employee with the highway office in Beijing explains.

"The time starts when drivers enter the highway, and the card is valid for 24 hours. If you spend more than 24 hours on the highway, you have to pay an overtime fee."

Some drivers complain that they have to keep driving when they feel tired in order to avoid the fee.

Some argue that drivers with receipts from hotels and rest stops should be exempted from the fee, a simple solution to a potentially dangerous problem.

However, many drivers say the accommodation at rest stops is too expensive. An ordinary double room can cost more than 220 yuan per night, so many drivers opt to catch some z's in their vehicles.

Some business insiders say overtime charge is aimed at drivers who wants to avoid paying toll fee. One official from Jiangxi Province transportation bureau says there is no such charge in Jiangxi, and it's illegal to do so.

For CRI, I am Zhang Wan.