Drink-driving is one of the leading causes of accidents and deaths in India. The World Health Organisation (WHO) study also identifies drink-driving as one of the five key “risk factors” for road deaths. According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways report in 2015, 6,777 individuals in India were killed because of drink driving. In 2016, Delhi alone saw as many as 28,006 motorists prosecuted for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Also Read: Drink Driving Laws In Other Countries And What India Can Learn
Speaking to NDTV, Ajay Kashyap, Special Commissioner of Traffic, Delhi Police said, We are putting a lot of emphasis on the prosecutions in Delhi. Almost 40 lakh challans were done in the year 2016, that’s an increase of 4-5% if we compare figures from the last few years.
Speaking about the importance of prosecution, Mr Kashyap added, Violator will think twice before doing any traffic offence if he has been challan for the offence even once. The effect of prosecution will not only be at the violator but also on the on-lookers who are watching the person getting caught for the wrong ‘traffic-deeds.’ However, current laws fines are inappropriate.
Also Read: Treat Drink Driving As Culpable Homicide: Parliamentary Standing Committee
What Is Being Done To Tackle Drink Driving
A recent report by Delhi Police states that locations vulnerable to drink-driving has been identified and strict sustained action is taken by deploying enforcement teams of Traffic Police. In compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court appointed Committee on Road Safety, the Delhi Traffic Police started impounding driving licences of traffic violators for specific violations. Speaking about the numbers a total of 1,78,578 lakh recommendations for suspension of driving licences have been sent to various Transport Departments including 1,11,266 in Delhi itself, by the Traffic Police.
Delhi Traffic Police has also identified four major corridors which are more prone to road accidents due to heavy traffic. The four major corridors are NH8, Dhaula Kuan To Rajokri; Mathura Road from Neela Kumbh to Badarpur flyover; Aurobindo Marg from Safdarjung tomb to Andheria Marg.
What we are doing is that we are sending recommendations to the government on how to improve the full bad stretch in Delhi, so as it can become a safer zone, added Mr Kashyap.
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Why India Is Lagging In Road Safety
It’s not just Delhi alone; India, in general, is suffering from bad road safety practices. Road accidents contribute to 83.81 percent of all traffic accident deaths in India. The major cause for the terrible statistics here is India’s poor laws for traffic violations and drink driving in particular. The World Health Organisation has ranked India as 4/10 in its Global Report on Road Safety 2015 for enforcement of drink driving law. Additionally, the current laws in our country do not meet the international public health organisation’s standards of best legislative practice because they do not differentiate between alcohol limits for the general population and novice/young drivers.
Also Read: Dangerous Roads: How India Compares To The World
With Inputs From PTI