The next time you are caught driving drunk, chances are, you can serve a jail term for the offence. With fines failing to yield desired results in checking the menace of drunk driving, Delhi Traffic Police have now decided to push for jail terms as punishment for a majority of the violators.
Delhi Traffic Police have approached the magistrates — who decide upon the court challans issued to motorists caught drunk — to ensure that they award jail term to maximum of violators.
Police have requested the magistrates to award jail term to all those violators who were found with very high level of alcohol in their blood.
Currently, about 25 per cent of drunk drivers go to jail.
This year till April 15, only 1,757 of 11,702 motorists prosecuted for drunk driving and were awarded with jail term.
In 2012, a total of 6,578 motorists were convicted with jail term of the 23,829 booked for the offence.
“The matter has been taken up with the magistrates at district levels. The department has pleaded before them to award jail term of at least one day to all drunk drivers whose alcohol content in blood was found to be very high,” said Anil Shukla, additional commissioner of police (traffic).
Traffic Police have said they are of the view that the increased number of imprisonment for drunk driving will discourage people from taking at the wheels if drunk, especially the repeat offenders.
“Currently, the fine for drunk driving is Rs 2,000. Until and unless the fine is increased exponentially, ensuring jail term could be the only deterrent,” said a traffic police
officer.
An amendment Bill, pending before the Lower House in Parliament, proposes Rs 5,000 as the minimum fine for drunk driving, while the maximum fine would be Rs 10,000.
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