There's never a 'good' time to smash through barriers and weave across the road into oncoming traffic.
However, a drunken Chinese driver got it doubly wrong when he did just that in plain view of Police filming, before dozing at the wheel as officers tried to rouse him.
The unfortunate man - apparently returning from an evening of enthusiastic Chinese New Year celebrations with friends and family - was captured by Chinese broadcaster CCTV, who were out with police in Shandong Province.
Footage captures the man narrowly missing an oncoming car as he pulverises barriers in the central reservation of the road, before smashing back through to the right side of the road - all the time with his hazard warning lights blinking.
The camera crew then filmed the man fast asleep inside the badly damaged car, as police knocked on the window to rouse him. After he came-to, rubbing his head in seeming confusion, the unsteady chap was led away by officers.
According to 3news, an officer said: "Now the trouble is he is still sleeping - he has been sleeping for a while."
Apparently, he was not injured, though he was taken to hospital by police.
2009 was a rich year for Chinese automotive hi-jinks, including a 13-year-old who took a bus on a "dancing dragon" joyride, and a supermarket that introduced a women-only car-park for easier parking.
But 2010 is catching up, having already served up a precipitous car-park plunge when a driver accidentally accelerated off a car park and into the alleyway below.
Referring to the confusion inherent in driving on Chinese roads, Wikitravel dryly notes: "Most visitors find they have enough trouble surviving Chinese traffic without taking the wheel".
