'Unbelievable to See'...Water-filled Pickup Truck Bed Becomes 'Chinese Mobile Swimming Pool' on the Move

Carrying Passengers in Cargo Beds Prohibited Under Chinese Road Traffic Law
Similar Incidents Reported Abroad

In China, a driver was caught by the police for converting the cargo bed of a pickup truck into an improvised swimming pool and transporting people through city streets. As similar types of "mobile swimming pools" have appeared in the past, there are now growing warnings online against dangerous driving meant to attract attention.

On August 20, Yonhap News TV, citing The Sun in the UK and China's CCTV, reported that a yellow pickup truck was spotted in downtown Xining, Qinghai Province, transformed into what is being called a "driving swimming pool" as it made its way down the road.

'Truck Swimming Pool' Found on a Street in China. Screenshot from SNS

A video uploaded to social media on August 12 showed the entire cargo bed of the pickup truck lined with plastic and filled with water. Two shirtless men could be seen sitting comfortably in the water-filled bed, drinking beverages or eating watermelon. Another person drove the vehicle around the city with the two men in the back. The video, capturing this absurd scene, quickly spread across Chinese social media platforms.

Upon verifying this, the Traffic Management Bureau of the Public Security Bureau in Xining City used road closed-circuit (CC) TV footage to track the vehicle’s route and located the problematic vehicle in the Kunlun Road area of Chengdong District, Xining City, where they stopped it. According to the investigation, the pickup truck was classified not as a passenger vehicle, but as a cargo vehicle.

Article 50 of China’s Road Traffic Safety Law in principle prohibits the transportation of passengers in cargo vehicles. The cargo bed also lacked any passenger safety features such as seats or seat belts. The police specifically pointed out that driving with a large quantity of water in the cargo bed is itself dangerous since sudden braking, sharp turns, or bumps in the road could cause the water to slosh violently to one side, shifting the vehicle’s center of gravity. People riding in the cargo bed could also lose their balance and either fall or be thrown from the vehicle.

The Sun reported that local police compared such vehicles to “mobile bombs,” warning that public roads should not be used as a stage to gain online fame. The police reportedly fined the driver 1,000 yuan for illegally transporting passengers in a cargo vehicle, and the vehicle was temporarily impounded on site.

The video capturing the absurd scene quickly spread through Chinese social media platforms. Upon verifying this, the Traffic Management Bureau of the Public Security Bureau in Xining City used road closed-circuit (CC) TV footage to track the vehicle's movement path and found and stopped the problematic vehicle in the Kunlun Road area of Chengdong District, Xining City. Screenshot from social media

This is not the first time a "truck swimming pool" has been discovered in China. In August 2021, in Rong County, Zigong City, Sichuan Province, a driver was caught by the police for filling the bed of a small truck with water and transporting two men on the road. At the time, the driver stated that he built the improvised swimming pool in the cargo bed after seeing a similar video online. It was found that they were on their way to go fishing. Similar cases have also occurred abroad. In 2023, a man in Israel was booked on charges of reckless and dangerous driving after he converted the bed of his pickup truck into an improvised swimming pool and transported four children. At that time, a video showing the children playing in the water-filled cargo bed sparked controversy.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.