[GTO]

The harshest punishment yet : Recently, a repeat offender was sentenced to 3 months imprisonment and a 6 month suspension on his driving licence. Stiff, you bet? But I'd rather have a harsh sentence handed out to drunk drivers than none at all.

News Linky

[amtak]

Originally Posted by GTO

The harshest punishment yet : Recently, a repeat offender was sentenced to 3 months imprisonment and a 6 month suspension on his driving licence. Stiff, you bet? But I'd rather have a harsh sentence handed out to drunk drivers than none at all.

News Linky

The times of India states that his licence was cancelled for good. However, Mumbai Mirror stated that its been cancelled for 5 years and this article states that its 6 months?

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by amtak

The times of India states that his licence was cancelled for good. However, Mumbai Mirror stated that its been cancelled for 5 years and this article states that its 6 months?

... and TOI states that he did not have a licence!!

Having your licence suspended in our country is not a big deal IMO, its not so hard to get out of - like most other things.
Infact, a lot of people carry onlya xerox of their licence in the car - so that way you can just make a xerox before it is marked/suspended. So that punishment isnt really much of a punishment.

However, the jailtime should mean something! Good to see that they are strict on repeat offenders.

cya
R

[GTO]

Having your licence suspended in our country is not a big deal IMO, its not so hard to get out of

Its not a big deal until you get caught for a major offence (such as drunk driving). The minute that the judge is informed that you were driving on a suspended / duplicate licence, the penalty is a lot more severe.

[JRD]

Laws should be implemented nation wide..! ppl who drink and drive kill themselves as well as innocent people..

Originally Posted by GTO

Really cant argue with the numbers, can we?

Number of accident-related deaths in Mumbai :

June 2007 : 60+
July 2007 : 38
August : 9

In what is an absolutely commendable effort, the state cops are cracking down big time on drunk driving. We have seen several plans being stuck in the "planning stage" only, but the traffic police is doing a remarkably good job in implementing this.

In the past few days, many have spent time in jail already (upto a week!!). This includes students and businessmen from well-heeled families. Naka-bandis or "check posts" are put up at several places around the city starting from as early as 7 pm. Now, they plan to put up these check posts even during regular working hours.

If found guilty, your car is confiscated on the spot and your licence seized. The current fine is Rs. 2,000 but this is expected to increase very shortly.

The only doubt is on how much you can actually drink before driving. I read in the TOI that even a single drink of hard liquor could get you in trouble.

News Article 1

News Article 2

News Article 3

[anurag_p80]

Kudos to Mumbai police, a step in the right direction. Such examples should be publicised as much as possible. It is the example, the precedent, which means more as a deterrent rather than the act of punishment itself. Pity it is not getting any airtime on television, the medium with the widest reach. Can coverage be improved?

[RedMM340]

What I just cannot understand is why people happily accept having police forces impose on their freedoms.

Why should anyone be happy about getting stopped by some ugly looking police guy who demands you breathe into a breathanalyzer when you have done NOTHING wrong.

Why should a citizen be stopped by police when he/she is driving perfectly normally and in a safe manner? What right does a government have to randomly stop citizens and subject them to search and inspection?

What if you had not been drinking and refuse to breathe into a breathanalyzer? What if you believe that the instrument is unclean/unhygenic? Should you go to jail? Do you deserve to go to jail?

What if you had one drink? Should you go to jail? What if the breathanalyzer is defective and shows a higher-than-actual reading?

What irks me is this whole concept of "go to jail" if you have been drinking. What is this nonsense? Should you go to jail for running a red light? Should you go to jail for not stopping for pedestrians? Should you go to jail for overspeeding? Any of these can result in an accident and injury or death of others. Right? If the gold-standard was "go to jail" for driving dangerously, my guess is that at least 50% of the Team-BHP members would be in jail right now, me included.

At most, a citation should be issued, and if the driver is deemed to be incapable of safe driving, then someone else should drive, or the car impounded at worst.

Please understand that this whole big emotional issue of drunk driving and the acceptibility of overly-severe punishments was pioneered in the U.S.A. by the insurance industry. What is now happening in India is that the same multi-national insurance conglomerates have set up shop here, and want to play the same game. The same arguments, and the same statistics game.

Drunk driving is a subset of dangerous driving and should be stopped by the police. If anyone is driving in a way that endangers others they should be stopped and checked. I do not believe in making a distinction between drunk/dangerous/irresponsible/drugged/sleepy.

You can have a 70 year old grandmother that is totally sober but is as dangerous as a guy who has had 4 drinks. Older people have slower reaction time, poor vision, poor coordination, and the absolute belief that they know how to drive as well as anyone else. So should we send every senior citizen to jail just for driving? How about prescription medications? They can affect people in the same way (or worse) as alcohol. Should we allow the police to set up roadside blood testing and arrest anyone with issues? I can tell you that insurance companies would love to do this.

Do you realize that insurance companies want to set up GPS units in all cars to monitor driving patterns? This has already started in commercial trucking fleets.

Come on folks, let's not just accept draconian rules that suppress our rights and freedoms. Let's not accept unfair and unwarranted search and checks unless there is just cause or suspicion. Put the onus on the pathetic cops to search out dangerous drivers by patrolling the roads and stopping cars that are behaving erratically. And most of all, let's NOT let the insurance companies run our lives, control our behavior, and dictate the rules and laws of our democratic government so that they can be more profitable.

[Godfather]

Originally Posted by RedMM340

Why should anyone be happy about getting stopped by some ugly looking police guy

Would it help if the cop was wearing Thongs?? whats being pulled over got to do with a cops looks??
Do you judge people by the way they look?? oh.. this cop looks good i guess i will stop and let him get on with his routine duties.

Jeez man..I dont agree with you one bit.. If a person is drunk he SHOULD be off the Road.. what are you, turning a blind eye to all the people who have died in these accidents because some rich kid can have his daddies flashy car and drink all night and drive over innocent people??

If the cops are trying to set things right let them do their work. There are a lot of cops who have died trying to stop these Drunk morons as well.
Ever thought what happens to the family when something like this happens..
All that comes up on TBHP also is bashing that drunk driver and typing condolences to the family.. what else can we do?? Nothing.. So i suggest that you let the Cops do their work and abide by it.

and as far as prescription medication is concerned.. Read the warning label on those. It clearly states that during specific timeline of taking this medication you are not advised to drive any motor vehicle.

Rest is up to you. and One last thing.. A Lot of TBHPiians who as per you should go to Jail DO NOT drink and drive.. Thanks to TBHP and all members who have voiced their opinions all racing now takes complete planning and only on Tracks or sponsored drag races.
I have not heard of any Illegal races for the last 1 year or more.

Goddy

[RedMM340]

Originally Posted by Godfather

Would it help if the cop was wearing Thongs?? whats being pulled over got to do with a cops looks??
Do you judge people by the way they look?? oh.. this cop looks good i guess i will stop and let him get on with his routine duties.

Jeez man..I dont agree with you one bit.. If a person is drunk he SHOULD be off the Road.. what are you, turning a blind eye to all the people who have died in these accidents because some rich kid can have his daddies flashy car and drink all night and drive over innocent people??

If the cops are trying to set things right let them do their work. There are a lot of cops who have died trying to stop these Drunk morons as well.
Ever thought what happens to the family when something like this happens..
All that comes up on TBHP also is bashing that drunk driver and typing condolences to the family.. what else can we do?? Nothing.. So i suggest that you let the Cops do their work and abide by it.

and as far as prescription medication is concerned.. Read the warning label on those. It clearly states that during specific timeline of taking this medication you are not advised to drive any motor vehicle.

Rest is up to you. and One last thing.. A Lot of TBHPiians who as per you should go to Jail DO NOT drink and drive.. Thanks to TBHP and all members who have voiced their opinions all racing now takes complete planning and only on Tracks or sponsored drag races.
I have not heard of any Illegal races for the last 1 year or more.

Goddy

Goddy,
You took it too literally. All police are ugly when they are impinging on our civil rights. And it has nothing to do with what they look like.

And you are not getting my point, and have fallen for the emotional issue of drunk driving. The issue is not drunk driving, but the suppression of civil liberties by a police state that serves the interests of multi-national corporations.

[Rehaan]

RedMM340,

As the back of (some of) our licences say - "Driving is not a right, its a privilege."

cya
R

[GTO]

Why should anyone be happy about getting stopped by some ugly looking police guy who demands you breathe into a breathanalyzer when you have done NOTHING wrong.

Simply because I feel thats a small price to pay for the potential safety of my family & friends on the road. Drunk driving is a nuisance and you know it. This aggressive crackdown by the Mumbai Police has drastically cut the number of road deaths, and incidents of drunk driving, in the city.

[suren181]

Me, Have more or less stopped DnD. Trust me, I now am able to enjoy my drink at home that I detest/avoid going our for a drink (since I don't want to drink and drive), much to the chagrin of my friends.

God forbid, I have never been involved in a mess while drunk before, but have to say I used to be rash, beyond a level of comfort, thinking back.

Now, for me, it's better safe than sorry. I know I might be flamed for this confession, but I have changed and am willing to accept the bricks.

[vasudeva]

I do not drink anything hard, so the question of drunk driving does not arise.

[anilkalvani]

RedMM340 Dude,
Sorry to say but what you think is completely wrong. Even if we guys have a night out we cab it up or hire a cab for the night, makes more sense than putting yours & others lives in jeopardy. I agree with what you said about elders' reflexes slowing down after a certain age but thats another issue all together. You know earlier in my group i was the designated driver as i could hold my pegs very well but who wants to go against the law. Its a really good move by the police here in Mumbai & no one expects a handsome cop or a hot policewomen with breath analysers anyways bro

Its better to be safe... than sorry!

[Tron]

Originally Posted by kkr2k2

can some one explain this in regular english.

I mean, what does this mean in terms of quantity of say beer or whisky or rum or vodka or wine .......

I drink of alcohol per hour on a full stomach will increase the BAC (blood alcohol concentration) of a person by 0.03% (30mg/dl). This is assuming that the person is in good health, not taking any other medications that interfere with alcohol metabolism, and is not a "rare" drinker. The Indian limit of 0.03 is too low. Many western countries have limits between 0.05 and 0.08. I don't know what is the scientific basis behind the 0.03% - it seems like a number pulled out of someone's hat. This deserves a legal challenge in Indian courts - I'll reserve this for a separate discussion.

To be under the legal limit in India, have only one drink (30ml of liquor or a small glass of beer) for every two hours. Of course, the effect is cumulative, not linear. If you drink 10 drinks in 20 hours, the BAC will be definitely higher than 0.03%.

In many countries, if you are pulled over for DUI, if a breathalyzer is not available, you can challenge the police to take you to a hospital or a lab to measure your BAC from a blood sample.

If someone in India challenges the cops for this, and the cops fail to provide this, and then the person sues the cops and wins, then the cops will be more methodical in their approach to DUI enforcement. Without proper methods, this is just a blind witch hunt.