HC bats for zero tolerance of drunken driving
26/10/2019
“The time has now come for such a just measure. Too many lives have already been lost to this lethal cocktail of internal consumption and internal combustion,” he said.
The observations were made while dismissing an appeal preferred by a two-wheeler rider, K. Shanmugam, in 2006, seeking higher compensation than ₹39,500 awarded to him by a motor accident claims tribunal at Poonnamalee in 2004. Holding that the appellant was not entitled to any money since he was in an inebriated state at the time of suffering injuries in the road accident in 2003, the judge set aside the award passed by the tribunal.
Referring to incessant news reports of road accidents caused by those under the influence of alcohol and innocent people such as pavement dwellers losing their lives due to cars mowing them down in the middle of their sleep, the judge said, “While Section 185 prescribes so-called limits, this court is duty-bound to observe that these limits seem to be theoretical because the effect of alcohol on an individual can vary widely.”
He pointed out that a multitude of factors including the body type of an individual, the amount of food taken before or after alcohol consumption, a genetic disposition to tolerance of alcohol, the speed at which acohol was consumed and even external factors would determine the effect of spirits. Even results of breath analysers were not infalliable. Therefore, he suggested turning the clock back to a pre-1994 era — before the permissible limit of 30 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood was introduced.
“Despite the law’s seemingly stern approach to drunken driving offenders, societal attitudes, by far and large, do not match. A study by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences found that 99% of drivers who drink and drive agree that it (drinking and driving) is dangerous and 97% were aware that it is prohibited under law. Yet, many Indians still get behind the wheel whilst intoxicated,” Justice Mahadevan lamented.
He said that there must be a zero tolerance policy against drunken driving in the country also because of proliferation of motor vehicles, huge pedestrian movement on roads, the absence of sidewalks or pavements, a general indiscipline and indifference to traffic regulations and the fact that roads and sidewalks were used by poor hawkers at night.
26/10/2019
“The time has now come for such a just measure. Too many lives have already been lost to this lethal cocktail of internal consumption and internal combustion,” he said.
The observations were made while dismissing an appeal preferred by a two-wheeler rider, K. Shanmugam, in 2006, seeking higher compensation than ₹39,500 awarded to him by a motor accident claims tribunal at Poonnamalee in 2004. Holding that the appellant was not entitled to any money since he was in an inebriated state at the time of suffering injuries in the road accident in 2003, the judge set aside the award passed by the tribunal.
Referring to incessant news reports of road accidents caused by those under the influence of alcohol and innocent people such as pavement dwellers losing their lives due to cars mowing them down in the middle of their sleep, the judge said, “While Section 185 prescribes so-called limits, this court is duty-bound to observe that these limits seem to be theoretical because the effect of alcohol on an individual can vary widely.”
He pointed out that a multitude of factors including the body type of an individual, the amount of food taken before or after alcohol consumption, a genetic disposition to tolerance of alcohol, the speed at which acohol was consumed and even external factors would determine the effect of spirits. Even results of breath analysers were not infalliable. Therefore, he suggested turning the clock back to a pre-1994 era — before the permissible limit of 30 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood was introduced.
“Despite the law’s seemingly stern approach to drunken driving offenders, societal attitudes, by far and large, do not match. A study by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences found that 99% of drivers who drink and drive agree that it (drinking and driving) is dangerous and 97% were aware that it is prohibited under law. Yet, many Indians still get behind the wheel whilst intoxicated,” Justice Mahadevan lamented.
He said that there must be a zero tolerance policy against drunken driving in the country also because of proliferation of motor vehicles, huge pedestrian movement on roads, the absence of sidewalks or pavements, a general indiscipline and indifference to traffic regulations and the fact that roads and sidewalks were used by poor hawkers at night.
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