Steering Clear

Most of us are guilty of drunk driving at some point of our lives. Some cannot afford a chauffeur. Others can’t be bothered with keeping one on after hours and paying overtime. The international trend of appointing a designated driver from amid a group has obviously not caught on with our party-hearty lot.

As a result,on any given evening,and particularly on weekends,we have a bunch of intoxicated maniacs on the loose on our roads. Accidents are,therefore,bound to happen. Cars are overturned and smashed,pedestrians knocked down,homeless people sleeping on the streets run over and,occasionally,the driver of the vehicle and his co-passengers are killed.

The media then goes into an overdrive and screams murder,baying for retribution and demanding a clampdown on drunk driving. Overnight,some rich brat earns nationwide notoriety for his irresponsible action. The more expensive the car,the bigger the controversy. A BMW or Pajero owner garners far more publicity than some drunkard behind the wheel of a Maruti.

Our judicial and police systems are still lenient towards drunk driving. Often,this is only when there is a public outcry that the guilty are brought to book. Otherwise,a poor chauffeur is invariably made the patsy,admits to guilt and serves a jail term on behalf of his wealthy employer,whose conscience is assuaged by the fact that he has paid off the victim’s family.

A few years ago,the Mumbai Police began to come down heavily on drunk driving. They regularly conducted breathalyser tests on the roads,carted culprits off to jail and shamed them publicly through the media. Overnight,thousands of Mumbaikars vowed never to drink and drive again,terrified at the ramifications of being caught by the cops.

Soon,a number of entrepreneurs began late-night driver services for those revellers who had imbibed too much alcohol.

The Delhi Police have also come down heavily on drunk drivers and have decided to hold pub and nightclub owners responsible for allowing tipsy customers to get behind the wheel.

Indians living abroad obey anti-drunk driving laws implicitly for fear of being jailed,losing their license or being deported. The same stringent police measures need to be applied across our country. People have to be made to realise that violating this law can attract a harsh punishment.

There is a vast difference between moral policing and responsible policing. And no citizen in his right mind will complain against a crusading cop who safeguards the populace by dealing sternly with such offenders.

Just when we thought that our streets were getting safer,news comes of an Indian firm that has developed a pill that successfully masks the alcohol content in the body. Costing less than Rs 100 per tablet,it is designed specifically to cheat the breathalyser test. It is banned in the US,but available freely online. Now,unless our government takes decisive action,we will have hordes of rich drunken louts brazenly driving about town,cocking a snook at the system. The efforts of the police will have come to nought and the moneyed class will once again get away with murder.

samarofdiscontent@gmail.com