[Eddy]

Originally Posted by gpa

This doesn't necessarily have to be true as I've always experienced something on the contrary. I usually drive home late every Friday night and pass the checkpost on the road beside Hard Rock Cafe. Since the past few weeks, I've been meeting this inspector who used to check if I was DUI. After about 3 weeks and passing by him each Friday, he came to my window again and when he saw me smiled and said, "I know I won't need to check you" and let me pass.

Exactly as it happened with me and a police officer who checks me every friday night at the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway toll !

[jp2u]

New rule means, new way to earn money for these cops, In chennai till date i have not seen a single cop who is genuine. No Cop is Free of Corruption.

All these kind of new rules only help these money hungry people to earn a extra buck. thats it.

These new rules are implemented seriouly when introduced and some time later on these rules becomes a big joke.

[prince_pervez]

Of course if you frequent a cop or any one for that matter people become friendly.
Heck, if someone else pays a fine, or anything else, to a cop twice, there are good chances of him being let off the third time. There are good cops as well. I don't want to generalise.

[amitoj]

Most of the traffic cops do start off with a slightly aggressive tone, but if you reply to them in a well mannered way, they respond in kind as well, specially Bangalore cops. I think deep inside, they are just glad that you stopped when they asked you to and not run them over!!

[serpente]

I saw on Gatari day (the last day of the month before Shravan starts when a lot of people drink because they can't drink the Shravan month) that there was checking for Drink and Drive at all major junctions in Mumbai. I don't know about other cities but in Mumbai the Drink and Drive rules are becoming very strict. its very good initiative as the number of accidents have reduced considerably.

[GTO]

I'm seeing a marked trend with high end restaurants offering chauffeurs to drive your car home (post dinner & drinks) . Last evening, caught the same at Olive @ Race Course. 400 bucks has their staff member drive your car home safely.

It's a win win situation, clearly.

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by GTO

I'm seeing a marked trend with high end restaurants offering chauffeurs to drive your car home (post dinner & drinks) . Last evening, caught the same at Olive @ Race Course. 400 bucks has their staff member drive your car home safely.

It's a win win situation, clearly.

It's a great service being offered. Till now I only saw it being offered for over a year at Taj President. On nights that you land up with a fat bill they even offer the service free.

The party hard drivers service is a great service too. Most drivers seem to be working with big corporates by day hence they are well versed with luxury cars.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Sahil

It's a great service being offered. Till now I only saw it being offered for over a year at Taj President. On nights that you land up with a fat bill they even offer the service free.

If it helps anyone, I've seen this service being offered at Indigo, Hard Rock Cafe and Olive Bandra too.

The party hard drivers service is a great service too. Most drivers seem to be working with big corporates by day hence they are well versed with luxury cars.

The founder of party hard drivers is a Team-BHPian. Is the service prompt enough? How much in advance do you need to call them?

[nickatnite]

Whether the cops are corrupt or not , there is no excuse for driving under the influence. I made a promise to myself to stop doing so, even if it means leaving my car where it's at. The driver service is a great idea and i hope it succeeds.

[sgiitk]

I have no sympathy for people who drive under the influence. The two offences which have a mandatory ban and a 10 year endorsement in the UK are Driving under the influence.... and Dangerous Driving (as against the far more common Driving without sue care & attention).

What worries me is that our cops may start harassing totally innocent people (who may never have had any tipple) for baksheesh or to meet their quotas!

[Surprise]

After gulping down their favorite drink, have seen guys getting behind the wheels be it a two-wheeler or four-wheeler. In most of the cases, even you could find out visual differences in their mannerism, before & after visiting the BAR. 99% of such people claim themselves to be in perfect state & they could not go wrong in driving, though they were drunk. They add “ I know my limit yaar, else I would have let someone drive”

Atleast there are few, you realize it as a mistake, but come up with their reasoning. In majority of such cases, people say that they do not have any other option other than driving themselves. Actually there were lot of other options like taking a public transport/Auto, but that too has got its own share of problems given the state the guys were in. It’s more convenient to get behind the wheels and drive away. They ignore the potential danger associated with it.

I have come across a smart policeman who stands just few meters away from a bar & catches people randomly to fill his pocket. Realizing this, the regulars use to push their vehicles for ½ a km & then ride it. Luckily no one comes on car as it’s a local bar in a congested street. Later the matter was solved by the bar owner on permanent basis. They knew that they have an escape route from the hands of laws.

I pray that guys who pounce on drunken lorry drivers got with accidents do not fall in the above category. All of sudden every rule changes when it comes to themselves.

Read somewhere that permissible alcohol consumption limit is 30mg per 100 ml of blood. Anyone have idea on how to measure the quantity and on what basis it has to be calculated.
More importantly do have any suggestion how to minimize this, if you think this has to be curbed

[DoNotHorn]

At times it so happens people drink just a glass of beer and drive, When they are stopped by cops, its a panic situation and the cops extract a hefty bribe or the legal fine of Rs.2300 in Banglaore.

I read in papers(Prajavani in Bangalore Yesterday) that if the breath anlyser gives a value of more than 30, we are liable for a fine.

Can anyone please let me know what is the legal amount of drink thats acceptable(I understand absolutely no alcohol must be taken before driving) but at times its ok(Its OK even in many western coutries to have a beer and drive as its below the legal limits).

Can anyone confirm if having a mug of premium beer is within acceptable limits?

[atrisarkar]

Originally Posted by DoNotHorn

At times it so happens people drink just a glass of beer and drive, When they are stopped by cops, its a panic situation and the cops extract a hefty bribe or the legal fine of Rs.2300 in Banglaore.

I read in papers(Prajavani in Bangalore Yesterday) that if the breath anlyser gives a value of more than 30, we are liable for a fine.

Can anyone please let me know what is the legal amount of drink thats acceptable(I understand absolutely no alcohol must be taken before driving) but at times its ok(Its OK even in many western coutries to have a beer and drive as its below the legal limits).

Can anyone confirm if having a mug of premium beer is within acceptable limits?

Firstly, there's absolutely no definite answer to your query as there is no quantitative mapping of the consumption and the test results. It depends on a thousand things like your body metabolism et al. Its like asking how much less food should I have to reduce 5kgs. I have seen instances when two people having consumed the same amount of beer have got different results.

Having said that, let me tell you that having a 'safe' limit is like treading on thin ice and given the possibilities of how things might get horribly wrong, not having even a SINGLE drop of alcohol before driving should be one of the basic principles of life. I'm not trying to preach here but having this principle is not AT ALL difficult, and this is coming from a person who is the first one to hit the bar if not driving. Please remember that drinking even a mug of beer is a deviation from what your normal motor functions of the brain are and thus have NO right to sit behind the wheel and you have NO licence to drive in this state. I sincerely request everyone to be equally strict against this concept of 'safe' limit. Lastly, I also urge you not to compare traffic laws of western countries and India as everything right from the traffic itself to the pulse of the society is entirely different. What holds good over there not necessarily means that it should be applicable over here.

[Rehaan]

@DoNotHorn,

Though i understand that your question is about whether our law is a zero-tolerance one, or there is a certain BAC that is acceptable -- i personally agree with atrisarkar's post above.

Say (in theory) a 0.05 BAC was acceptable by the law. Its hard to equate that into "X" glasses of "Y" alcohol, as every drink has different alcohol levels, and its effects depend on the person and other factors (empty stomach etc).

Even if the Indian law allowed x.x BAC - there's no telling whether you will end up in jail or fined if you were stopped and the tester shows a number 0.01 higher.

Lastly, if you are involved in an accident -- general perception is: you've drunk == you're drunk. It doesn't matter how much.

I know i haven't answered your question -- but the fact is i don't know if its a zero-tolerance law, since in my personal opinion it is followed like one regardless!

cya
R

[sgiitk]

@Surprise: I hope you remember the Johnny Walker advt. which shows how reflexes (handwriting) degrades with Alcohol. I think that was a most illustrative demonstration of the ill effect of alcohol.