Despite heavy fine, drunken driving up
Despite a series of awareness campaigns and drives initiated by the traffic police to combat drunk driving, it seems Mumbaikars have turned a deaf ear to it all. It seems like even motorists are not paying any heed. To combat this issue the city-based psychiatrist have come with a suggestion and opinions of consulting the drunk driver so that they understand drunk and drive can endangered their and others life.
It is also seems that motorists fail to learn a lesson despite the numbers of drunken drive is drastically increasing every year in the state. “The drunk driving is one of the major causes for the death of hundred peoples in Maharashtra in road mishap,” said an official.
As per data procured through the Right to Information (RTI) the number of cases has doubled up in the past four years in spite of increasing the rate of fine. In this backdrop, Dr Mundada has written letter to the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis requesting to make reformative and behavioural change in the present law.
According to the statistics it showed none of the Mumbaikars are taking drunken drive issue seriously due to which they are ready to pay fine and go. “In 2013, 41,727 cases were recorded that surged to 58,414 in 2014, 53,049 in 2015 and 1, 08,564 in 2016. In this year between January and February, 2, 74,741 have been registered,” said doctors.
Considering the growing number of cases despite increasing the amount of fine, it is observed that around a large of the offenders have committed the crime in repeat. So, Dr Mundada who is the youth president of Indian Medical Association (IMA) who procured the data through RTI has raised the demand to send the violators to mental health professional for reformative and behavioural change that would ultimately help in decreasing the actual number of cases.
The city-based psychiatrist said 60 per cent of them are repeated offenders, so there is no point of increasing fines which cannot decrease the cases of drunken drive. “There are two types of offenders- alcoholic and on the process of becoming an addict. In both the cases, it is essential to send the person to a mental health professional who can help the offender out with proper counselling,” asked Dr Mundada in letter sent to CM Fadnavis.
The doctors want CM to make required changes in the current law which can reduce the cases by sending them the psychiatrist for treatment or consultation. “The government need to make more stringent rules, also needs to make something more that would have more lasting impact. Until the mental health professional does not provide no-objection certificate, the offenders should be given the driving licence back,” he said.
According to the statistics till now state has earn three billions in the last four years and even cases have increased three times. “It is not only drunken cases but also other cases in the categories of talking on mobile phone, speed limit, causing obstruction to free flow of traffic have also increased,” added official.
In 2013, 51, 97,460 were reported with 64, 45,327 in 2014, 80, 10,920 in 2015 and 75, 72,372 in 2016. These figures might give the authority nightmares but it has made the pocket of the state government heavy.
More than Rs 3 million have been collected through fines. In 2013, Rs63, 62, 71,226 were collected that increased to 113, 00, 68,330 in 2016. In the same period, the state bagged Rs 343, 13, 16,593 by fining motorists for traffic related violations in the state.