JOIN USSwanky car, large group of friends, high volume songs and bottles of booze. Life is good. These are the things that youngsters crave these days without thinking about their own lives... and lives of the people on the roads. It’s a known fact that alcohol consumption by young drivers puts pedestrians and riders of motorised two wheelers at risk... but, who cares?
Alcohol is an important factor in 33 to 69 per cent of the fatalities in road accidents, studies conducted by Delhi Traffic Police have found. It was also a factor in 8 to 29 per cent of non-fatal cases.
Drivers and motor cyclists with any level of BAC (blood alcohol content) greater than zero are at higher risk of a crash than whose BAC is zero.
Another survey conducted by the traffic police on drunk driving, revealed that the majority who were caught drunk while driving were young and ‘educated’. But, what does education actually mean to the youth who get a kick out of the ‘I don’t care’ attitude?
Siddharth Gulati, just 21 and working with Dabur as a sales executive shares his take on the issue, “It has nothing to do with education, it has to do with common sense.” He added, “On New Year’s eve last year I was coming from a party with my friends. I was drunk and was caught by the traffic police. I had to shell Rs 700 as a bribe. Post that incident, whenever I am high I hitch a ride with one of my one of my friends who does not booze and I do not drive myself.”
But Siddharth’s is a rare example. The risk of being involved in a crash starts to rise significantly at a BAC of 40 mg for every 100 ml of blood. Practically speaking, that means young adults with BAC above zero have 2.5 times the risk of crash compared with more experiencd drivers.
A study on drivers killed in road crashes reveals that teenage drivers are at five times the risk of a crash compared to drivers aged 30 and above, at all levels of BAC.
Clinical psychologist Pulkit Sharma working with VIMHANS, says, “The youth know that it is harmful for them. But, they are always on hunt to seek excitement and thrill. They want to break all the rules and norms as there is a lot of anger inside them due to various reasons. One of them is improper care during early childhood,” Pulkit further adds, “It is a sense of achievement for them when they break rules, it is boost to their self-esteem.
Education does not make a person emotionally responsible towards society. Education cannot prevent these accidents from occuring because it is after all a question of the mindset.”
Drunk driving is punishable under Section 185 of Motor Vehicles Act where violators can be fined Rs 2,000 or sentenced to six months in jail or both. Repeat offenders can be fined Rs 3,000 and/or jailed up to two years.
If caught driving drunk, the violator's car is impounded in cases where there is nobody accompanying the violator to drive their vehicle back.
Inder Mohan, GM in Bellvue Hotel in Lajpat Nagar, say, “Parents are responsible for the youngsters’ behaviour. They do not devote enough quality time to their children which is why they end up spending more time with their friends. Youngsters from upper middle class are more into this pattern of behaviour.”
Little do they realise that the youngsters are also at their most gullible and impressionable at this age and more likely to be influenced wrongly. Shockingly, the number one cause of death amongst youngsters between 15-24 is drunk driving, so educating your teenagers about the dangers of drunken driving is particularly important, not only for their own self but for the protection of other road users.