Seizing vehicles of drunks won’t work: Experts

Road safety experts disagree with the Hyderabad traffic police seizing of vehicles of drunk drivers, saying that there is evidential value in such a move.

According to road safety experts, seizing of vehicles, which is being done by a special team deployed for the purpose, turns out to be a costly affair. They said that cars get damaged due to improper transportation and storage.

They also say that invalid insurance or a serious accident should be the only two reasons a vehicle is seized.

As soon as a person is caught driving under influence, his/her vehicle is seized by the traffic police and released only after the accused attend counselling sessions at Begumpet and Goshamal Traffic Training Institutes and perform the given social services duties at traffic signals.

According to traffic cops, many vehicles remain unclaimed as the violators, fearing jail, do not turn up to claim them.

S. Adishankar, from Road Kraft, an NGO for road safety in Hyderabad, said, “When a person is caught, he should be fined; his licence can be confiscated but the vehicle should be released if a responsible person is able to take it. The same vehicle could be used by more than one person in the family. They should not suffer on account of the accused.”

Mitesh Shah, a citizen said, “Vehicles of first-time offenders shouldn’t be seized. Only vehicles of repeat offenders, with no valid insurance, should be seized. Seizing of vehicles does cause damage and the police has to take care of the seized vehicle.”

V. Ravinder Joint Commissioner Traffic, Hyderabad said, “It’s not that we want to harass people who are caught driving drunk, but to make them realize how dangerous driving under influence is, not only to themselves but also other commuters.