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THE GOAN SPECIAL------------------------------
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Even as the government pursues a liberal policy of issuing bar licenses at the rate of 100 a year, the police is battling drunken driving cases on the road at the rate of over 3,000 cases a year.
The number of drunk drivers booked in the State has risen steadily since 2013, when the alcometers were procured for the first time. This only goes to denote that the incidence of operating vehicles under the influence of alcohol persists undeterred by law.
In 2013, 362 persons were booked using alcometers for operating vehicles under the influence of alcohol with the figure showing steep increase to 3,393 in 2014. Last year witnessed 3,678 people being booked using alcometers.
Based on alcometer readings, 1,303 people were booked till June 30 this year and around 1,538 persons were booked in the corresponding period in 2015.
Trends over the last five years show that the number of cases of drunken driving and riding increased during the peak tourist season beginning in October-November, with the figures remaining steady well into mid-February the next year.
Goa has 7,328 bars and about 100 new ones are added every year. A study conducted by the Goa Medical College shows that 45 % of the population is alcohol dependent. Of this, 28 per cent are addicts.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (traffic) Dharmesh Angle informed, “14 traffic cells across Goa are equipped with a total of 52 alcometers.”
The allocation of machines to Mapusa, Calangute, Margao, Panaji and some other busier cells is higher with each having around three alcometers.
A senior traffic officer informed that the cost of these alcometers varies between Rs 40,000 (instrument without printer) to Rs 55,000 (instrument with printer).
The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 considers those with 30mg per 100 ml BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) as being legally impaired to operate a vehicle.
Despite this being the lowest in the world, one bottle of beer or 60ml of whisky or rum is enough to get you into trouble with the cops.
Section 185 of the Act lays down that a driver or rider proved to be drunk using a breathanalyser shall be punished for the first offence with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months and/or with fine which may extend to Rs two thousand. “The second or subsequent offence, if committed within three years of the commission of the previous similar offence, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two year and/or with fine which may extend to Rs three thousand rupees,” reads the MV Act.
ALCOMETER - THE ALCOHOL BEATER
* You cannot dispute the machine and as a result all cases end up in convictions. It was learnt that most people, to avoid a lengthy court battle, admit to being drunk and pay the fine
* Once a person is booked for drunk driving, their licenses are seized and forwarded to the courts along with alcometer reading and other documents
* Apart from this, the traffic cops have begun an active campaign of forwarding reports to the road transport offices seeking suspension of licenses for certain traffic violations including drunk driving
* Incidentally, 97 such reports forwarded in 2015 are still pending with the RTO
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2013 362
2014 3,393
2015 3,678
2016 (till June 30) 1,303
