JOIN USCaffeine antidote to curb drunk driving
About 9,000 people die and 45,000 get injured on Karnataka roads annually. And a good number of the casualties reported are due to accidents caused by drivers under the influence of alcohol. Hence, the Transport Department has decided to come out with this campaign.
Explaining the new plan to Deccan Herald, Transport and Road Safety Commissioner Bhaskar Rao said, “the campaign, called the 3D programme (Don’t Drive Drunk),’ is aimed at sensitising people about the ill-effects of drunken driving.”
He said this is for the first time that the State, through its transport department, will be initiating such a programme. “We have just concluded discussions on the 3D programme to be launched on December 15. The campaign will continue till January 15,” he added.
Incidentally, experts note that a majority of the accidents occur between December 15 and January 15.
The department is not only gearing up to reduce the number of drink-and-drive cases but also is trying to do this by providing an “alternative” in coffee.
Although the idea seems rather far-fetched, the department believes it is a beginning, nevertheless.
Rao revealed that the department is in the process of wooing Coffee Board to support its endeavours. He hoped that the board will not turn down the request.
“We want to institutionalise this. We are involving a host of corporates besides trying to get Coffee Board. Prasad Bidappa Associates has already shown its interest in the campaign,” he said.
Further, the department is also exploring the possibility of providing coffee as a complimentary drink at bars and pubs, as coffee, suggested by the medical fraternity, can reduce the effects of alcohol.
He said: “Several laws in the country need amendments. In many foreign countries, the bar attender is by law given the discretion of refusing a customer that extra drink if he or she feels the customer has exceeded the limit. We need such laws. For, often the last drink makes the big difference.”