Drunk driving: A major contributor to road accidents in Andhra Pradesh

Cases of deaths caused by drunk driving have been on the rise in Andhra Pradesh. The latest report by The Ministry of Road Transport and Highway shows that the rate of deaths caused by driving under the influence of alcohol and other intoxicants increased by 246% in 2017 from that in 2016.

Drunk driving by drivers of various vehicles caused 2064 road accidents in 2017. 156 deaths were caused by these accidents and 466 persons were injured. This makes Andhra Pradesh the state with the second highest number of deaths caused by drunken driving.

Tamil Nadu stands highest, having recorded 403 deaths in 1833 road accidents in the year.

The total number of drunken driving accidents witnessed by a state has also come to be proportional to the availability of alcohol in that state. In the dry state of Kerala, where alcohol consumption is being phased out by the government over a period of 10 years, the share of drunk driving accidents was just 0.41% of the total number of road accidents.

“Suffering a jail term for three to seven days, paying a fine of Rs 2,000 and undergoing police counseling is not deterring motorists in Vizag and other parts of the state from continuing to drink and drive,” M Ramesh Kumar, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, told Times of India.

Adding that over 500 motorists have lost their driving license for the past one year due to drunken driving, S Venkateswara Rao, Deputy Transport Commissioner, said that rash driving and drunk driving is the most common offence for suspensions of driving license for three to six months.

News Credits: Times of India