Harsh penalty may reduce accidents
Cops plan to turn party-poopers for those who take to the wheels after their “one for the road”. Bearing in mind, the number of accidents that happen during the New Year, Delhi Traffic Police plans to suspend the driving licenses of first time offenders and may cancel the license thereafter. And not surprisingly a majority of Delhiites think a harsh penalty could help reduce accidents on city roads.
People who don’t respect other lives don’t deserve to drive, say youngsters and support the step. Divyank Rana, a Jamia Millia student, proves his point with a recent anecdote, saying, “One of my teetotaler friends had gone to an office party. There a colleague of his got heavily drunk and borrowed someone else’s motorcycle to prove that he could drive even after drinking. And he crashed the bike as soon as he got on to it, luckily for him, he wasn’t injured badly. Trouble begins when drunkards try to prove they can handle anything and end up putting other’s life in danger.”
Seconds, Prabeer Gautam, a media professional, and adds, “Not just during this time of the year, drunken driving is a perennial menace and the only remedy is continuous checking and severe fines all year around.”
Sources from the traffic department say that though cops aren’t authorised to suspend or cancel driving licences, they can impound and ask the court to suspend or cancel licenses of defaulters. A traffic cop on condition of anonymity, adds, “Laws against drunk driving have been there, but only a very heavy fine and fear of being put behind bars can deter drunk drivers.”
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