Rise in drunk driving cases: Need for new rules?

Regardless of the various awareness campaigns and launch of special drives being conducted by the Hyderabad Traffic police, the city is witnessing a rise in the number of drunk driving cases being registered.

Subsequently, contributing to drunk driving accident cases in Hyderabad. The traffic police have been regularly conducting breath analyser tests across the city and sending the drunk drivers to jail. Nevertheless, such cases are hardly witnessing any decline.

In the first half of 2018, more than 12,000 cases of drunk driving have been registered by Hyderabad traffic police with 2,054 people getting jailed and 778 licenses suspended.

Hyderabad Traffic Police filed 2,735 chargesheet for drunk driving offences in the month of June. As per the latest statistics furnished by the department, 454 drivers who were caught drunk have been jailed and 101 driving licenses were cancelled. Most of the accused caught in drunk and driving cases are youth in the age group to 20 to 30.

In addition, even minors are turning out to be a contributing factor in these cases. The Hyderabad traffic police took up the drive against minors drunk driving starting from January 2018.

This year, nearly 825 cases have been registered against parents and vehicle owners by the Hyderabad traffic Police for allowing unlicensed minors to drive vehicles in the city. In 29 of those cases, the parents and the minors were convicted and sent to jail or juvenile homes by the court.

As a part of continued initiatives against drunk driving, the Hyderabad Police are holding the drive on a regular basis to prevent drunk and drive in the city apart from conducting counselling classes and levying heavy penalties. However, the efforts of the police are not having any impact on the drivers, who are caught in drunk and drive. Maybe there is a need for new rules to be implemented for the safety of commuters on the road.