To curb drink driving in Bangalore,traffic police have proposed to jail even first time offenders for up to a week.
The proposal,which has been sent to judicial authorities,borrows from similar frameworks in place in Delhi and Mumbai,where repeat offenders are jailed for at least a week to send out a strong message to people driving under the influence,ACP B Dayanand said.
In Bangalore,drunk drivers are left off with a fine,irrespective of whether they are first time offenders or have a history though the Motor Vehicles Act provides for a fine of up to Rs 2000 or imprisonment up to six months or both. Indeed,only one man has ever been jailed in Bangalore for drunken driving. M N Kishore,39,was fined Rs 3,000 and imprisoned for 10 days last year after he was caught driving under the influence thrice in 35 days. But now,worried over rather frequent accidents involving drunken drivers,the police want to imprison even first time offenders as well as fine them and seize their vehicles,an official said.
In 2013,till the end of August,the police have lodged 42,092 cases of drink driving.
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