Story By: John Feng, Sub-Editor:  Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

This dashcam footage shows the moment a motorist loses control of his car on an empty motorway and careers off the road and into a ditch.

The car was a complete write-off but the driver and his passengers escaped largely unharmed.

The incident took place on the Qingdao-Lanzhou Expressway on 9th March, with motorist Mr Chen and his two passengers fortunately largely unharmed despite the dramatic landing.

In the video, Mr Chen’s silver saloon can be seen travelling straight over the county of Jingchuan, in north-western China’s Gansu Province, when the car suddenly starts swaying left and right.

The slowly drifting vehicle veers to the right of the empty motorway, and his friend gasps as the car slams into the crash barriers and is launched off the road.

As the vehicle lands in a ditch outside the motorway, the impact sends Mr Chen’s dashcam spinning 180 degrees.

The device captures the moment the driver and his two friends are left in a state of shock as they slowly recover.

Mr Chen’s airbag has deployed and caused minor injuries to his hands, the video shows.

Traffic policeman Wu Zhangzhou said the three men were lucky to escape largely unharmed.

They had travelled from the city of Xianyang in nearby Shaanxi Province in order to return to work amid the coronavirus outbreak, he added.

Mr Chen, who the authorities said was “inattentive while chatting”, was found fully liable for the accident.

He received a 200-RMB (22-GBP) fine and had two points docked from his licence.

His car has also been written off.

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