Don't get sleepy on the road in China!

Reuters reports that Chinese authorities have ways and means of waking you up!

Police in southwest China are spicing up drivers with raw chili in a bid to stop them falling asleep at the wheel, a newspaper said Wednesday.

Police in the Chongqing region have started serving drivers chili peppers at highway service stations, holding to the traditional Chinese belief that people often feel more sleepy in the Spring, the Chongqing Evening News said.

Most of the drivers are from neighboring Sichuan, Yunnan and Hunan provinces, where chilies are a local favorite, it added.

"It's really good to have some hot peppers when you are tired from driving," van driver Chen Jun was quoted by the newspaper as saying. "They make you alert."

China's roads have long been among the most dangerous in the world due to overloaded and speeding trucks and drivers who switch lanes without signaling and often ignore traffic lights.

I'm almost afraid to post this article . . . I'm sure Lawdog will be reading it with an evil grin on his face, and calling loudly for a large jar of jalapeño peppers to be installed in his patrol car!



Peter