Car-o-bar’ – this term has become quite popular in recent times among the youth. The literal meaning of the term is ‘having alcohol inside the car’, wherein youngsters buy alcohol from the wineshops and end up behind the wheel in ‘high’ spirits.
Worse, high on booze they over-speed on the roads, overtaking other vehicles unmindful of basic traffic rules thus endangering the life of others and their own, on the road.
According to a recent report, a total of 18,645 drunk drivers have been prosecuted in the national capital till July 15, while 9,941 vehicles have been impounded and 6,235 people arrested for the offence. Of the total prosecuted drivers, 11,028 were motorcycle riders, while 5,468 were driving cars. As per the report, 2,149 drivers – including 23 chartered buses and six school buses were also hauled up on the charges of drunk driving.
But, if on the one hand the number of challans have increased, a very few have actually been jailed for their offence. Talking to Metrolife, Anil Shukla, Joint Commissioner of Police, Traffic, said, “The judicial process is very weak, we can only bring the horse to the water but can’t make it drink. The courts are not taking the matter seriously. They should put more and more people behind bars and there should be absolutely zero tolerance for drunk driving, because those who are not arrested become repeat offenders.”
“The lifestyle and culture has also changed. We cannot teach people what is right or wrong. No one is stopping anyone from drinking, but why do people have to drive after drinking? People who are under the influence of alcohol are not even bothered about others on road. So, the court should stop taking things so leniently and sentence more and more people for drunk driving,” added Shukla.
According to Prince Singhal, activist and founder of Community Against Drunk Driving (CADD), “Besides collecting money on various offences, enforcing of right sections of law is very important because drunk driving is an ‘intentional crime’ and they are not accidents. When one is drunk, she or he knows the consequences. Also, the entire offence should be made non-bailable and violators should be booked under ‘attempt to murder’ and their licences impounded.”
Drunk driving is one of the most acute road safety hazard and continues to be a serious national problem that causes over 1,00,000 road deaths annually and, like most other social problems, it needs to be addressed through community awareness.
CADD has come out with an innovative campaign called the DASHboard – don’t drink and drive national campaign. The campaign involves placing a photo frame with picture of family or loved ones of the driver on the dashboard of the vehicle along with a don’t drink and drive message to
remind the drivers about the dangers of drunk driving, and the need to be sober while driving.According to Singhal, other than strict laws, even the police personnel should be given proper training on how to handle drunk people on road.
“The traffic police is also not well-equipped, they don’t even have enough number of alcometers. Also, police should challan people during the day time as well and not only during night because youngsters also drink during the day. In our country, nothing changes without fear, so more and more arrests should be made to curb this situation,” said the activist.
Abhishek Verma, the son of a construction company owner, said, “The clubs and pubs are closed by maximum 12 or 1 am. What do we do after that? And car is our only saviour. Also, if we all are drinking, one has to drive...no other option. On one hand the Government is ruining our nightlife and now they also have issues with us drinking. We all know it is harmful, but we are left with no option at times.”