Drunk driving puts at risk not only the life of the person behind the wheel, but also of innocent people. “Impairment by alcohol is an important factor in causing accidents and in increasing the consequences of the same”, states the official website of the Delhi Traffic Police. “Alcohol consumption by drivers puts pedestrians and riders of motorised two wheelers at risk”, it adds.
According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, about 16 persons die every hour across India in road mishaps. While the report titled ‘Road Accidents in India 2014’ carries the statistics indicating the number of persons injured and dead in road hazards, it doesn’t specifically mention the number of persons affected by drunk driving.
A total of 4,89,400 accidents led to 1,37,572 deaths and 4,93,474 injuries across the country in 2014. Tamil Nadu followed by Maharashtra and then Madhya Pradesh witnessed the most number of road accidents. The following thirteen states accounted for 86.3% of total road accidents in the entire country.
According to the World Health Organisation, “The immediate effects of alcohol on the brain are either depressing or stimulating in nature, depending on the quantity consumed”. It further says that alcohol consumption “results in impairment which increases the likelihood of a crash since it produces poor judgement, increased reaction time, lower vigilance and decreased visual acuity. Physiologically, alcohol also lowers blood pressure and depresses consciousness and respiration. Alcohol can impair judgement and increase crash risk even at relatively low Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) levels. However, the effects become progressively worse as the BAC increases”.
The law states that any person under the influence of alcohol or drugs, driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle found to have an alcohol level exceeding 30 mg per 100 ml of blood detected by a breath analyzer, shall be: