Not in ‘spirit’ of law, but tipplers booze and cruise anyway

‘Don’t blame the police for drunk driving deaths’

Mangled remains of the car involved in the February 23 Karmanghat accident that claimed three lives, including that of a techie who was driving in an inebriated state.

The need for stringent measures to curb drunk driving has come into sharp focus following the death of three youngsters in Karmanghat 10 days ago.

Despite routine drunk driving checks by the traffic police of Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda Commissionerates, instances of tipplers involved in accidents are reported every other day in the State capital. “Don’t blame the police for drunk driving deaths. We are doing our best to curb the menace. People have to understand that they should not drive under the influence of alcohol,” said Rachakonda Traffic DCP N. Divyacharan Rao.

‘Human error to blame’

The police cannot conduct the drives across the commissionerates due to various reasons, he said, adding, “More than 70% of road accidents are taking place due to overspeeding or self-skidding. A majority of accidents are occurring only due to human error.”

On February 23, three youngsters, two of them software engineers, were killed while one of their friends escaped with minor injuries when their car crashed at Karmanghat.

Madupati Vinayaka Mallikarjun (29) from New Saidabad was driving the car under the influence of alcohol, which they consumed till late in the night at a bar in Gurramguda.

Another such accident was reported on February 18 when a 35-year-old drunk businessman lost control of his vehicle and knocked down a group of people at Hafeezpet, Miyapur. The accident claimed the life of Mohammed Afsar (40), a private school correspondent from BHEL, and left two others injured.

Several accidents involving drunk drivers are taking place on weekdays, while the number of accidents during weekends have declined drastically. “We are also planning to conduct late-night drives on weekdays,” a senior police officer said, adding that many accidents with no casualties are not even recorded.