Drinking and driving in Delhi? Think again.

kanjjar

Banned
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NEW DELHI: Be scared. Be very scared of mixing drinking and driving as 1,001 people have been jailed in Delhi in the first three-and-a-half months of this year for the offence, as many as 44 of them for over 10 days. Suddenly, it seems the cops have become deadly serious about checking the menace on our roads.

The law was made strict in September last year as it recognized that driving under the influence of alcohol poses a serious danger to others on the road as well as to co-passengers and the driver himself. The maximum punishment, therefore, is a stiff 6-month jail term plus a fine of Rs 2,000 for the first time offence, and a two-year jail term plus a fine of Rs 3,000 for the second offence.

But the police has so far been going easy, usually letting off people after a fine. Not any longer, it seems. ``In north Delhi alone, the district with highest violations, 411 drunken drivers were imprisoned, and in south Delhi 287 persons were sent to the cooler,`` says Delhi Police joint commissioner (traffic) Satyendra Garg. The figure for central Delhi has been 186, east Delhi 72, and west Delhi 45.

Apart from risking jail, drunken driving can lead to suspension of the driving licence for anything between six months and a year. ``We have suspended the licence of 787 persons. If a driver is found guilty of drunken driving for a second time, we will cancel his driving licence," said a senior traffic officer. Also, several cars were impounded when the errant driver had no one else to drive his car back home.

The police hopes imprisonment for drunker driving will be a big deterrent. ``We are not taking it casually and we hope people won`t take it casually either,`` says Garg. ``Many of the fatal accidents are a result of drunken driving but intensive checking this year has reduced these accidents by 51.02%.``

An alcohol-meter count of more than 30 mg of alcohol constitutes drunken driving. ``Usually, imprisonment can be awarded to anyone who has consumed 30mg alcohol or more but is usually awarded to those registering over 100mg. It`s the court`s assessment but most given jail terms of 10 days or more had had consumed more than 150mg,`` said a traffic officer.

He said people often don`t realize that they are driving after drinking too much. ``Many people we have caught have claimed that they were returning from an office party or family celebration and didn't realize that one drink can land them in such trouble,`` he added.

As drunken driving is a non-compoundable offense — those caught are straightaway sent to court where their punishment is determined — it means a merry night out can have a very bad ending.
 
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