HYDERABAD: The State seems to have seen a lot more drunk motorists in 2018 than last year. According to the an annual report by Road Safety Authority, fines collected by the authorities from them have more than tripled from Rs 2.2 crore in 2017 to Rs 7.2 crore in 2018. The numerous ‘drunk and drive’ initiatives taken up by the traffic department seem to have made an impact - the number of cases booked rose from 68,954 to 91,375 in just one year.
Chairman of RSA T Krishna Prasad says the drives are proactive measures by policemen to catch perpetrators in the act. “It seems to have made an impact as many choose to abstain from drinking when they in a group while at a pub. Some groups have designated drivers,” he said.
However, the larger question seems to be whether imposing challans and sending offenders to jail really works?
K Vinod Kumar, the chief functionary of Indian Federation of Road Safety, thinks it doesn’t. “The government has postponed the closing time of pubs, bars and wine shops. This, in a way, contributes to a number of incidents. We need to have tailor-made interventions to put an end to these issues,” he says.
Number of cases against riders surge
The total number of cases booked against motorists in Telangana has increased to 91,375 in 2018. Those riding two-wheelers without a helmet and driving cars not wearing a seatbelt were especially affected