Road safety panel for ban on liquor boards on Hyderabad highways

Hyderabad: In an attempt to bring down drunken driving deaths, the Central Road Safety Committee has recommended that liquor shops on highways not be allowed to display boards.

Authorities have been keeping a strict vigil on the Hyderabad-Bombay highway in the recent past and roadside dhabas are not allowed to serve liquor. This has led to accidents coming down by 20 per cent.

However, imposing a complete ban might not be a possibility on all highways due to the control of excise department; but, it would be a solution to bringing down drunken driving related deaths, indicated RTA authorities. As per figures, 78.43 per cent of accidents are due to drivers’ fault. Also, 74 per cent of accident are due to drunk driving and overspeeding.

Among the key highways that crisscross Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are the Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway, Hyderabad- Nagpur highway, Hyderabad-Kurnool, Bangalore highway, Hyderabad- Bombay highway and Hyderabad-Warangal highway.

“An estimated 2000 liquor shops are there on these highways or at points where the highways run through towns and cities. Of the total, 43 per cent of road accidents happen on other roads while 23 per cent are on state highways and 33 per cent on national highways,” as per the TS Transport department.

In a recent meeting, AP Chief Minster Chandrababu Naidu had suggested decreasing or partial removal of boards of wine/ liquor shops on highways saying that this would decrease the visibility of wine shops and reduce the number of drunk driving cases/accidents.

“The recommendation for partial removal of boards of wine/ liquor shops on highways will be implemented across both states. The actual solution might be in the removal of liquor shops on the highways,” said a senior RTA official.