Hyderabad recorded the highest number of drunk driving deaths among 53 urban areas, according to data released by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for 2016.
The city recorded 89 deaths out of 335 in urban areas nationally, which is 26.5% of the total deaths recorded. NCRB data, which is collected from the States for its annual report, gives a national perspective. The annual report has been delayed by nearly two years.
The trend of high number of deaths due to drunk driving could be seen throughout the State.
In 2015, Telangana accounted for 8.6% of the road accident fatalities nationally owing to tipplers being behind the wheels. In 2016, the number spiked to 16.4% making the State rank right behind Jharkhand, which recorded 17% of such deaths.
However, the State recorded fewer fatalities due to various kinds of road accidents in 2016. While the number of accidents went up to 23,713, the number of fatalities declined marginally to 8,124. The previous year, Telangana had recorded 8,263 deaths on roads in 21,252 accidents.
Measures taken
Hyderabad police have taken several measures to instill fear in vehicle users, who might want to drive after drinking. The Traffic Police regularly conduct breathalyser tests at random and those who flunk the test have to attend a counselling session or face suspension of licence and pay a fine of ₹2,800. In 2017, as many as 4,015 offenders were sentenced to a jail term of varying periods for driving under the influence of alcohol.
In 2016, Hyderabad police cancelled the driving licences of 7,323 persons for drunk driving, collecting a total penalty of ₹ 2.98 crore.
Till September this year, nearly 20,000 drunk driving cases have been recorded in the city. Individuals caught driving under the influence have to attend a counselling session with a family member, and their Aadhaar details are collected.
Nationally, road accidents have gone up by 1.8% — from 4,64,674 in 2015 to 4,73,050 in 2016. The fatalities too have gone up by 2.1% with 1,51,801 lives lost on the road the same year.
