Police arrest drunk driver, avert tragedy

Timely action by the Madiwala traffic police in the early hours of Sunday prevented a possible tragedy after they arrested the driver of a private Volvo bus who was at the wheel under the influence of alcohol.

According to the police, Alagan, the driver of the luxury bus belonging to Bharti Transport, was heavily drunk when they stopped the bus for checking at around 12.30 am near the Madiwala police station junction. The breath analyser result showed that blood alcohol concentration in Alagan was 198 per cent, while the legally permissible range is a mere 0.3 per cent. What was more shocking was that he was driving the Chennai-bound bus with 36 passengers on board, the police said.

Alagan was among 988 people who were booked by the traffic police for drunken driving on Saturday night and the early hours of Sunday in different parts of the City.
Senior traffic police officials say that it is high time that the recommendations of the Sunder Committee on amending the Motor Vehicles Act are implemented.

The recommendations include a one-year-jail term and a fine of up to Rs 10,000 and imprisonment for six months for 30 to 150 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood.

According to officials, lack of provisions in the Act for stringent punishment have, in a way, proved to be a licence for road users to be reckless and indulge in drunken driving.
The quantum of punishment is negligible from a road user’s point of view as the offender pays the fine and gets away. Cases of drunken driving, the police fear, may go up in view of the government’s decision to extend the deadline of bars and restaurants in the City to 1 am on Fridays and Saturdays.