Drunk driving must be dealt with iron fist

Hyderabad: Four people were killed and two persons injured on a single day after drunk drivers ran amok on the city’s streets last Monday. The horror, which saw several families being pushed into darkness in a matter of just a few hours due to insensitive acts by a select few, has senior officials from the […]

Hyderabad: Four people were killed and two persons injured on a single day after drunk drivers ran amok on the city’s streets last Monday. The horror, which saw several families being pushed into darkness in a matter of just a few hours due to insensitive acts by a select few, has senior officials from the police force itself calling for stricter enforcement of traffic laws and importantly, more visible policing.

According to sources, though the police are dutifully referring driving licences of those causing such accidents to the Regional Transport Authority for punitive action, only a few were being suspended or cancelled.

At the same time, one of the prime reasons for these accidents being repeated, they point out, was high dependence on technology for enforcement, and also reduced visible policing. The traffic wings in Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda have nearly 350 important and busy junctions and if more police personnel are posted on duty, on a shift basis, at those places, it could make a major difference, they feel.

However, some of the officials believe the special drives are enough to curb drunk driving. “We are conducting special drives against drunk driving and other traffic violations regularly and to an extent have been successfully able to curb the menace. Those involved in road crashes resulting in the death of persons are being booked for culpable homicide, not amounting to murder and prosecuted,” a senior official from the Hyderabad Traffic Police.

The Cyberabad police had recently started referring driving licences of motorists causing deaths due to their driving or caught drunk driving to the RTA seeking their suspension and permanent cancellation. According to sources, this year so far, nearly 35,000 motorists were booked for drunk driving in Cyberabad alone, while the number was about 30,000 each in Hyderabad and Rachakonda Police limits. In most cases, the police have sought the RTA to take action against the violators. However, officials said only a few of these were being suspended or cancelled. This, in turn, was giving motorists the misplaced confidence to drive even if they are in an inebriated condition, believing that nothing would happen to their licenses.
Apart from this, many officials and citizens too feel there is a need to keep strict surveillance on pubs in the city, which do not follow standard protocol instructed by the police. The city has nearly 150 pubs, both small and big ones, where youngsters have liquor parties till the wee hours and return home, driving by themselves. Most of the drunk driving accidents had drivers returning from such parties.

“We have already issued notices to owners and managements of pubs asking them to strictly adhere to safety protocol. It is their responsibility to arrange drivers to guests who are in an inebriated condition,” a senior official from the Cyberabad Traffic Wing said, insisting that cases were being booked against the pubs for not following rules.

As for conviction in drunk driving cases, the Hyderabad Police has special courts to try drunk driving cases, but in Cyberabad and Rachakonda, officials need to depend on regular local courts where there are other cases already pending.

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