Visakhapatnam: Punishment fails to deter drunken driving

Visakhapatnam: The unique punishment of "undertaking the duty of traffic police at main junctions for hours" has not deterred motorists in Vizag from drunken driving. In the last one month, over 30 motorists performed traffic duties and created awareness about traffic sense and drunken driving but the unique punishment by the court has not brought any major change among the motorists in the city, as drunken driving cases are getting registered as usual.

The judge of Third Metropolitan Magistrate court Ramya Chavala convicted over 70 persons, including 60 on a single day, for  drunken driving in the city in the past one month.  Instead of sentencing them to a short jail term of 2-3 days, the judge has sentenced about 30 of them to undertake the duty of traffic police at main junctions such as Jagadamaba , Daba Gardens and a few other places in the city.

A senior police officer with the traffic wing said that many motorists have watched the tipsy drivers performing the traffic duties as per the court orders standing at the key junctions with awareness  placards. But, the idea has not deterred the motorists in the city from driving under the influence of alcohol. Some tipsy motorists have been taking to alternative routes to evade the cops, he said.

ADCP (Traffic) K Mahendra Patrudu said many of the accused, who have performed traffic duties for drunken driving, felt ashamed. "But, the latest data says that drunken driving in Vizag city has not come down as motorists have a strong belief that they can escape from the punishment," he added. Sources in the police department said in 2017 (From January to April), the city police booked around 6,910 cases for drunken driving and that they had collected a fine of Rs 41 lakh and convicted about 150 people.