Of all the policing problems faced by civil police the one that defies solution is traffic management. We seem to be always chased by vehicles behind us and many speeding ahead weaving a pattern defying all traffic rules.
It is not enough if one drives carefully. The ingenuity of a driver lies in anticipating the mistakes of other road users, a motorcycle squeezing its way through, a pedestrian darting across, autos overtaking on all sides, the mobile phone addict handling the wheel with gears in one hand, and the most dangerous of all — an inebriated idiot totally smashed just ploughing through traffic. This is the chaotic scene on the road and no city is free of traffic woes.
Drunkenness leads to reckless driving at very high speeds and a fatal accident is the inevitable result. On an average more than 50 % of fatalities are due to overspeeding and drunkenness is the basic cause.
The first recorded car accident occurred on August 17, 1896 in UK when Bridget Driscoll a pedestrian was hit by a car whose speed was a mere 12 miles an hour! The coroner who did the autopsy recorded that such mishap should never occur again but, ironically, death due to road mishaps is one of the top 10 killers along with heart disease, cancer, diabetes etc according to report of World Health organisation.
In india, on an average, 1.5 lakhs people die due to road accidents every year and more than three lakhs suffer severe injuries. The economic impact due to road mishaps is huge. The amended Motor vehicles Act imposes severe penalty for drunken driving jail term up to two years and fine of Rs 5,000 or both.
Most of the victims in drunken driving are in the age group of 13 to 18. Easy availability of liquor, absence of parental care and peer pressure are the important causes of youth succumbing to the drinking habit. Now with high speed bikes available, roads have become racing tracks for the youth who drive recklessly fully drunk. They seldom wear helmets.
Vehicle checks and testing the drivers for detecting alcohol consumption is a challenge to the police. The most unhygienic method is to ask the suspect to blow air and smelling the breath for alcohol. Breathalysers were introduced much later to detect alcohol in breath. But this is not enough. Courts expect the urine and blood sample be taken and analysed. The suspect can refuse but adverse inference can be drawn by the court if he refuses to give blood and urine sample.
This process even for one person takes several hours. While so, how can we expect the police to complete the check of umpteen vehicles which ply on the road?
Chennai has over 50 lakh vehicles and number of two wheelers is close to 40 lakhs. Inspite of the logistical problems, Chennai Police did well in detecting 62 ,708 cases of drunken driving in 2013 and 55,288 in 2014. In 2015, the court suspended 5,906 driving licenses while close to 70,000 cases were booked.
The HC has rightly ruled that the Tasmac shops on the highways should be closed but what prevents a driver from keeping a bottle in the vehicle and having a swig on the go? Given the speed of modern vehicles, it is practically impossible to check vehicles on the highways. Instances are not wanting where policemen on highway patrol while checking speeding vehicles were themselves victims of accidents.
A solution to this menacing problem is very stringent laws on the one hand and committed effective and blemishless enforcement. Corrupt practices in enforcement should be severely dealt with. Cameras on highways with sensors which can automatically capture the number plate, cull out data of vehicle users from the computerised central data bank and impose heavy fines automatically is a system perfected in many countries and it is the only one to discipline errant drivers.
The urban lifestyle has its own culture of letting the hair down during weekends, relaxing with friends and networking over a meal with drinks. But it should be tempered with responsibility. Drink if one must but have a driver to reach one home safely or one among the friends, a non drinker can take the wheels.
Hotels have a responsibility in ensuring that the vehicles which leave the hotel late night are not driven by those who have had a couple over the limit. Road safety is no accident and everyone has to contribute towards keeping the roads safe.
(The writer, a former DGP, is an AIADMK MLA)
