8 out of 10 people in Delhi admit to drunk driving in this survey
- The survey organised by an NGO dealing with the menace of drunk driving included 30,000 people from Delhi.
Delhi is home to a high number of vehicle owners who have committed drunk driving at least once. A survey conducted by an NGO showed eight out of 10 people have admitted to have violated this traffic rule which attracts one of the strictest punishments under the Motor Vehicles Act. According to the survey, the people who admitted to drunk driving include four-wheeler and two-wheeler owners. Drunk driving is one of the biggest killers on Indian roads, according to the road accident data of 2022 released by the Centre.
The survey, conducted by the Community Against Drunken Driving (CADD), spoke to 30,000 people in Delhi, including 20,776 male respondents. The survey was conducted between August 1 and December 31 last year. The survey said an overwhelming 81.2 per cent out of all respondents admitted to have driven under the influence of alcohol.
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Drunk driving remains one of the biggest reasons behind high number of road accidents in India. In 2022, drunk driving caused as many as 3,268 road accidents across the country, almost a tenth of all types of accidents in the entire year. 1,503 people had died due to drunk driving in the same year, about 11 per cent of total deaths in road accidents in India that year.
Also Read : India saw 1.68 lakh deaths in road accidents in 2022
Besides drunk driving, traffic rule violations like wrong-side driving, using mobile phones during driving, jumping traffic signals and over-speeding are some of the biggest killers on Indian roads.
The drunk driving menace continues in cities like Delhi despite strict patrolling of police forces. Delhi witnesses heavy checking for such offences during every festival or national events. Delhi Traffic Police had earlier said that there has been a surge in drunk driving offence in the city. In 2023, Delhi Traffic Police issued challans to more than 16,000 people for drunk driving, much higher than 2,225 cases in 2022.
Also Read : Nitin Gadkari postpones target to reduce road accidents in India by half, aims to achieve by 2030
Drunk Driving: What Motor Vehicle Act says
The Motor Vehicle Act clearly mentions the traffic rule for drunk driving. Traffic police officials can request drivers to undergo Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) test to check level of intoxication. Usually, traffic police use breathe analysers to determine the level. The rule says one is safe if the alcohol lever is less than 30 mg per 100 ml of blood.
Drunk Driving: Fines and jail terms
Punishment for drunk driving, which includes fines and jail terms, are for all vehicles including commercial vehicles, four-wheelers, three-wheelers, and two-wheelers. One needs to shell out fine of up to Rs10,000 or spend six months in jail or both for the first offence. If one is found repeating the offence, the fine is increased to ₹15,000 or two years in prison. Traffic police are also empowered to suspend driving licenses for repeat offenders.
