Mumbai teen killed in drunk driving case

Saturday, 31 March 2012 (2 weeks ago)

A night out at a suburban pub ended in tragedy when a 23-year-old, under the influence of alcohol, lost control of a car he was driving, killing an 18-year-old girl, and injuring four passengers and an auto driver.

BANAGALORE: The recent outrage over increasing drunken driving cases in megacity Mumbai has had a cascading effect on other cities including Bangalore. The Bangalore Traffic Police (BTP) are literally on their toes and painting the town red with their campaign against drunken driving in the city.  The silver lining for the Garden City is that Bangalore, as compared to other cities, has been witnessing a drastic downward trend in the number of drunken driving cases.

Armed with breathalysers, especially on weekend nights, the BTP, posted on various roads of the city try to identity the negligent drivers who spree dangerously on the highways. Last year, in the first three months, road accident deaths stood at 205, however, this year it is just 182 for the corresponding period, providing a clear testimony to the drastic decrease in the drunken driving cases in the city.  The Additional Commissioner of BTP, M A Saleem said, “Last year, we had registered 61,923 drunken driving cases, whereas this year, in the first three months, we registered 15,656 cases, as compared to Delhi which has already registered 18,000 cases. Although we can give Delhi the benefit of doubt as the city has more than 52 lakhs vehicles while Bangalore has  comparatively a lower number, only 41 lakh vehicles in a day.” He added further, “For every second offence of drunken driving, the driving licence of the driver is seized and put up for cancellation.” Increasing trend of drunken driving cases in other metros:The Mumbai Police has suspended more than 38,000 driving licenses for drunken driving since 2007. At present, the traffic police has launched a massive drive against drunkenness by putting up barricades at various places across the city, especially during the late evenings. On March 30, eighteen-year-old Shivani Raut lost her life in a car crash due to her friends’ negligence who were driving under the influence of alcohol, while six others were hospitalised. As far as Delhi is concerned even the capital city is not free from the clutches of drunken drivers. A total of 777 people were caught and fined for drunken driving during a special traffic police drive on the occasion of Holi, this year. This included 597 two-wheelers, 123 cars and 57 other vehicles were ‘challanged’ during the drive.

n a special drive against drunken driving, the Mumbai Police booked 130 people and arrested 11 of them on Sunday night.

The special drive started recently following a string of accidents due to rash and drunken driving. The traffic police launched the drive against drunken putting barricades at various places across the city, especially during the late evenings.

As part of the drive, a couple was detained and brought to the Versova police station on accusation of drunken driving on Sunday night. However, there was a high drama at the police station as the couple turned abusive and violent.

The man behind the wheel of the SUV that was seized by the police claimed to be the son of a former director general of Punjab Police. Ironically, the couple was brazen and completely unfazed even after ramming its car into a cyclist.

The man first identified himself as Rocky and claimed he was an actor in Punjabi films while his female companion claimed to be a fashion designer and personal trainer. After almost four hours of questioning by the police, Rocky sobered down enough to reveal his real identity as Paramjit Sandhu.

Consequently, the police arrested both of them.

In another hit and run case in Ghatkopar area of the city a man who was allegedly learning driving lost control on his new car and injured eight people, including a small girl who has been battling for her life in the ICU of a hospital.

The accused, Bhagwant Chikna, fled from the spot. The police have registered a case of rash driving, but no arrest was made yet.

Such cases of drunken driving, followed by accidents, have been on the rise in the city. In just 10 days, six people have been killed and 57 injured in separate incidents.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/mumbai-police-cracks-down-on-rash-drunk-drivers/1/183690.html

Around 600 drunk drivers were caught in the capital in the past four days during a pre-Holi drive with police today warning people driving under the influence of alcohol that they will have to spent Holi in jail.

As many as 146 drunk drivers were caught last night, taking the total number of prosecutions to 585 in the past four days. While similar number of people were challaned on Saturday night, 175 were caught on Friday for drunken driving. Another 118 were caught on Thursday night.

"It seems everyday is irresponsible day and people would take chances on any day to drink and drive. It is not that only on weekend people drink and drive. On any day we are the same.

"We will continue our drive to account for violations and am sure jails will find space for these people so that on Holi they remain locked up rather than create nuisance on roads for themselves and others," Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Satyendra Garg said.

Garg said he wished police had the resources to account for every violator at all places, at all times of night for these drunk drivers.

"Maybe social control in terms of parents, families is missing to discourage people from drunk driving," he said.

The city police have warned Delhiites not to take advantage of Holi and indulge in drunken driving this week as they are to enforce more discipline on roads to ensure an accident-free festival.

Garg said in just two months, nearly 700 people have been awarded jail terms.

"Are these not sufficient to put reason in people's mind to change themselves...But obviously, jail term, possibility of injuries and even death cannot make them sane...By the time Holi ends, it (the number of prosecutions) may be 2,000," he said.

"Last year on the day of Holi, we caught about 800 drunk drivers. If they do not modify their habits we will persist with our efforts do discipline them," he said.

MishapsMarch 31, 2012: In a case of drink driving, 18-year-old Shivani Rawat died after the driver of the car she was in lost control on Juhu Tara road. There were six people in the car, including the driver, Rahul Mishra (23), who was in an inebriated state. Two girls are still in a critical condition. An auto rickshaw driver has also been injured.

March 29, 2012: A speeding truck hit an ambulance carrying five people, including an asthmatic 70-year-old patient, at the Bahar Cinemas junction in Vile Parle (E) in the early hours of the day. One person, Melvyn Almeida, was seriously injured.

March 25, 2012: Charu Khandal (28), an animator, is still in a critical condition after the auto rickshaw she was riding in along with her sister Ritu Khandal (26) and friend Vikrant Goel (26), who is also critical, was hit by a speeding car in Oshiwara. The car’s driver, Manoj Netrapal (39), was allegedly drunk.

March 22, 2012: 27-year-old Israr Khan was riding on the Western Express Highway near Andheri when an overhead cable snapped, came slashing down at him, and slit his throat. While Ahmed Khan died, the pillion passenger, Ram Bhavan Pal, survived with minor injuries.

November 12, 2006: 21-year-old Alistair Pereira who was driving in Bandra in a drunken state had driven onto a pavement, running over 15 sleeping labourers. The High Court sentenced Pereira to three years of imprisonment under Section 304, one year under Section 338 and six months for causing injuries, a judgment upheld by the Supreme Court.

itiatives to Stop Drunk Driving

In the U.S. drinking and driving has been a problem for decades and has caused unnecessary accidents and issues. Law enforcement and various non-profit organizations have created many initiatives to help solve the problem, but the problem continues and doesn't seem to be getting any better. What will it actually take to eliminate the problem - or at least decrease the numbers? This lens is dedicated to sharing ideas to stop drunk driving.

Ideas To Prevent DUIs * Pass a national law that prohibits any open alcoholic drinks in public places.

* Make sure repeat drunk driving offenders are wearing electronic devices such as ankle bracelets at all times. Furthermore, all repeat offenders should have to install ignition interlock instruments (IIDs) in their vehicles.

* Attach a special marking to the license plates of repeat offenders. However, if someone else has to drive the repeat offender's vehicle, they could be mistaken for being a drunk driver.

* Since the high percentage of drunk drivers are young, restrict driving for young drivers including not allowing them to drive after a certain time.

* Increase DUI awareness and education for students in elementary and high schools. Creating a sense of responsibility in young adults and children is also key in further reducing drunken driving incidences in the future.

* Increase the number of public service announcements in the newspapers and on television.

All of these ideas used together consistently would probably be best to reduce the number of DUI accidents. It's just a matter of the government or law enforcement implementing them being consistent with these initiatives in order for them to be effective while maintaining a level of lawfulness for all citizens.

Will Lowering the Drinking Age Limit Prevent Drunk Driving? For many years now there has been a growing debate surrounding the idea of lowering the legal age for drinking from the current age of 21 to 18. In California a group of college presidents and have united to push for this change in the drinking age limit. The group feels that the current age limit is making drinkers under the legal age hide and not get help when they are drunk or have a drinking problem. The group also feels that the current drinking age limit isn't really working to decrease the amount of underage drinkers. They will still find a way to drink no matter what.

Lowering the age limit for drinkers would force parents to be more accountable for educating their teenagers about the dangers of drinking and driving. If people really want to prevent drunk driving, then educate kids about the dangers and consequences of drunk driving. Education is key.

The "Avoid" Campaign

Annual Drunk Driving Campaign Creates Awareness

One initiative that has been getting media attention lately is the "Avoid" Campaign. Law enforcement across the U.S. have joined together to help create awareness about drunk driving and it takes place a couple weeks out of the year. This campaign started in 1973 and it's aim is to bring together law enforcement agencies to help fight drunk driving.

The tag line for this campaign is "Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest." and an estimated $50 million is being spent to carry it out throughout the country. $30 million is allotted for TV and radio ads while $20 million goes towards extra police enforcement (2008 numbers).

"Drunk driving is a top priority for the police, CHP, and sheriff deputies in California, but other motorists on the roads are one of the best weapons we have against drunk drivers," said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety. "We're asking the public to report drunk drivers by

calling 911 and providing the location and a complete description of the vehicle."

This is a great idea, but if only it was carried out every day of the year, not just two weeks of the year. Nonetheless, at least something is being done!

Would Publishing Mug Shots Deter People From Drunk Driving?

TV news and print media love to write stories about celebrities who have been arrested for drunk driving. We read these stories and poke fun at the celebrity mug shots. However, are we taking away any lessons from these celebrities' mistakes?

What if it wasn't a celebrity - what if it was you whose name and face that was all over the news? Would you learn your lesson about drunk driving then?

In an effort to decrease the incidences of drunk driving, many states have proposed that the names of drunk drivers offenders be published in local newspapers.

There haven't been any studies done (that I know of) that prove that this type of tactic would work to prevent drunk driving. Newspapers have to decide whether they should publish the name of a person who has been convicted of drunk driving rather than publish names of people who have been arrested for a DUI. We have to consider that mistakes are made....there's the chance that a DUI charge could fall through.

Other potential problems exist related to publishing names in the media include invasion of privacy and the issue of whether or not this tactic would actually deter people from drunk driving.

Mass Media Campaigns Reduce Drunk Driving? Resolving the issue of drunk driving has alluded us for many decades. Law enforcement and various community organizations have come up with various initiatives to decrease drunk driving incidents. Everything from increasing sobriety checkpoints to media ad campaigns have been used to spread the message about the consequences of driving under the influence.

One organization that is on a mission to help prevent drunk driving is MOST of Us. This organization understands the importance of media campaigns to influence people. In partnership with other state organizations, MOST of US has created various projects to help prevent drunk driving. The organization uses "social norms marketing", an idea based on the social norms theory. Social norms theory states that our behavior is influenced by our perceptions of what is "normal" or "typical."

It's been known that people are heavily influenced by their parents, peers, and the environment around them. If kids constantly see their parents or friends drink, it's likely that they will drink too. If drinking

and driving appears to be the "norm", it's likely that you will do it too because "everyone is doing it".

A report published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine back in June of 2004 suggested that mass media campaigns could possibly reduce alcohol-related car accidents by 13 percent.

MOST of Us uses messages with a positive tone versus a negative tone to influence people. Instead of saying "Drunk driving kills", the organization releases campaigns including messages such as "Most young adults (4 out of 5) don't drink and drive". These types of positive messages have worked in changing people's perceptions, attitudes, and behavior about drinking and driving.

Drunk DrivingThe Century Council is a leader in the fight against drunk driving.

Since its founding in 1991, The Century Council has lent its support to a number of policies and programs in the national effort to reduce drunk driving fatalities; administrative license revocation, zero tolerance for drunk drivers under 21, tougher penalties for DUI test refusal and .08 Blood Alcohol Concentration as part of a comprehensive plan to fight drunk driving.

More than a decade ago, The Century Council took a leadership role in identifying a group of DUI offenders who were disproportionately responsible for drunk driving fatalities, known as hardcore drunk drivers. Based on the principles of swift identification, certain punishment, and effective treatment of these deadly offenders, we work to eliminate drunk driving with the help of a national panel of safety experts and our partners in law enforcement, judges, prosecutors, probation and parole.

A daily drive against drunken driving soonTNN Apr 10, 2012, 04.01AM IST

Tags:

traffic police | Smoking | police officer | NCR

GURGAON: Traffic police will soon launch a daily drive against drunken driving. Of late, anti-drunk driving campaigns were limited to weekends. Cops said zonal officers would be directed to conduct the drives on a regular basis and citizen volunteers would be asked to assist them.

Every weekend, at least 100 challans are issued for drunken driving. A police officer said: "Revellers from NCR come to drink in Gurgaon. We don't have any problem with that, but they should avoid driving vehicles after drinking." Poilce will put check posts on the prominent places including the MG road which has high density of pubs and bars. Traffic police claim that there drives have made city roads safer. They said that cases of accidents at night have dropped by around 18% thanks to this drive.

During the last one year, police launched many initiatives to curb the menace including deputing an all-women squad, recommending jail terms for violators and instructing pub owners to arrange transportation for their customers.

As a result, traffic police issued twice the number of challans in 2011 comparison with the previous year. In 2011, traffic police issued 14,692 challans against 7,360 in 2010. Moreover, police arrested 300 drunk drivers for the offence.

While accepting that drunken driving is a root cause for road rage and violence, DCP (traffic) Bharti Arora said the daily drive would ensure discipline on roads. Police would also pursue the matter with the court in old cases.

Moreover, police said they are focusing on challaning drivers for smoking while driving.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/delhi-mumbai-have-highest-drinkdriving-cases-states-ngo-study/880276/0

In the U.S. drunk driving has been an ongoing problem for the past several decades. Many initiatives have been proposed to prevent drunk driving, but this issue continues to plague the country. Drunk driving has become an everyday occurrence and is practically viewed as normal. It's almost become an acceptable form of behavior. What can we do?

Below are 6 initiatives that have been brought up in the past to prevent drunk driving:

* Making it illegal to have open alcoholic containers in public places. Some states like California have adopted laws that prohibit open containers in vehicles.

* Special marks on license plates of people whose driver's licenses have been revoked or suspended for a DUI. The only problem with this is: What if someone else other than the offender drives the car?

* Not allowing younger drivers to operate a vehicle at night. The only problem with this is that drunk driving offenders come from many backgrounds and age brackets.

* Monitoring repeat DUI offenders with instruments such as ankle bracelets or installing ignition interlock instruments in their vehicles.

* Requiring the government to provide more education in schools and information about alcohol and drunk driving to prospective drivers.

* Have more public service announcements in the media.

All of these initatives by themselves aren't enough to combat drunk driving, however, a combination of several, if not all, would probably be the best to lessen problem. On top of that, it's important to establish a sense of social responsibility in young adults and children which could possibly reduce drunk driving incidences in the future. In the long run it's up to the government to be consistent and follow-up with these initiatives in order for them to be effective.

National Hardcore Drunk Driving Project

Research shows that hardcore drunk drivers are responsible for a disproportionate share of the alcohol-impaired traffic fatalities each year. Hardcore drunk drivers are responsible for 70% of all drunk driving fatalities and are 380 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash. Drivers with blood alcohol concentration levels in excess of .15 are only one percent of all drivers on weekend nights; however, they are involved in nearly 50% of all fatal crashes during that time.

The National Hardcore Drunk Driving Project advocates a comprehensive approach that includes swift identification, certain punishment, and effective treatment as the most effective strategy to reduce hardcore drunk driving. The Combating Hardcore Drunk Driving sourcebook, now in its third edition, and the Coalition to Fight Hardcore Drunk Driving are the main components of this long-standing initiative.

COLLEGE INITIATIVES

MADD looks to engage college campuses and communities in the fight against alcohol misuse.  Underage drinking, binge drinking and drunk driving are serious problems on colleges across the country and requires a comprehensive solution involving stakeholders from across the collegiate landscape.  This includes not only students, but faculty, administration, law enforcement, and other community members.  Here are some things members of the college community can do to make change for their community:

Work to support law enforcement Promote better laws and campus policies Honor victims of drunk driving Help prevent underage drinking in the college community Walk Like MADD to create awareness Monitor the courts to make sure justice is done

The Nation's New Intervention Strategy to Stop Impaired Driving

Impaired driving is a serious problem in the United States, killing thousands every year. Reductions in alcohol related traffic deaths occurred in the 1980's and early 90's, but progress has stalled since then. In fact, the numbers are beginning to rise. In an effort to once again move the numbers in the right direction, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has identified three priority initiatives to help reduce driving while impaired (DWI) and to focus greater attention on the impaired driving problem. Implementation of these initiatives will support and involve active participation of law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, and medical and health care professionals. These three priority initiatives are: (1) high visibility enforcement; (2) support for prosecutors and DWI courts; and (3) alcohol screening and brief intervention.

NHTSA supports wide-spread alcohol screening in the following ways:

1. Medical Settings

NHTSA has partnered with the following organizations to create materials which promote alcohol screening implementation:

American College of Emergency Physicians American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma American Academy of Family Physicians National Hispanic Medical Association

NHTSA has also compiled a list of training resources for medical personnel interested in learning how to conduct alcohol screenings.

2. Community Alcohol Screening

Through the promotion of Alcohol Screening.org and our work with the American Public Health Association , we encourage individuals to self-screen and community-based organizations to spread the word that alcohol screening is quick, easy and acceptable. Using the Alcohol Screening Planner is a great way to bring Alcohol Screening.org to your community. Increased understanding of low risk drinking limits www.niaaa.nih.gov and increasing the discussions about alcohol use and misuse are two goals for the community based work.

Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention Overview

Federal Partnerships

NHTSA collaborates with the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration and the National Institute of Drug Abuse on a variety of projects which promote the effective use of screening and brief intervention.

NHTSA ReportsNHTSA produces some materials on Screening & Brief Interventions.

Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention in the Medical SettingFor many people within the target populations for drunk driving, their only interaction with the health care system is with Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

Addressing Alcohol-Impaired Driving: Training Physicians to Detect and Counsel Their Patients

Who Drink HeavilyAlcohol is the most common chronic disease in trauma patients, and one of the most common in patients treated in primary care. The goal of this project was to address alcohol abuse at the individual level and at the community level.

Screening and Brief Intervention Tool Kit for College and University CampusesIt is estimated that 1,700 college students between the age 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes. Additionally, nearly 600,000 students are unintentionally injured under the influence of alcohol. High-risk drinking behaviors also contribute to negative academic consequences, alcohol related health problems and students’ suicide attempts. This Tool Kit contains instructions for conducting a brief screening; the AUDIT instrument for screening; handouts on the effects of alcohol, lower-risk drinking strategies and recommended drinking guidelines; kit evaluation form to provide feedback for future improvement; and Flyer to advertise free screening event

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) was founded in 1980 "to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime, and prevent underage drinking." MADD is considered one of the leading voices in the fight against drunk driving and thereby also receives a lot of public criticism for its increasingly aggressive agenda.

The organization was founded by Candy Lightner in response to the death of her 13-year-old daughter, who was killed by a drunk driver that same year. Now almost 30 years later, the group has expanded greatly, increasing its involvement in research, programming, and outreach.

MADD's current president, Laura Dean-Mooney, worked extensively to change laws in her home states of Texas and Florida before being elected as national president of the organization. MADD has a volunteer national board of directors and national board of advisors made up of celebrities and key leaders. The organization seeks to spread its message through volunteer-led initiatives, lobbying, sponsored programming, and fundraisers.

Made up of several local chapters in every state, the organization is very large and continuously expanding. Annual reports, court cases, lobbying, public relations, comprehensive research and statistics, media outreach, and several publications are only a few of MADD's outreach initiatives. Via all of these mediums, the organization works to harness the power of public awareness to educate children, students, families, and friends about the consequences of drunk driving and underage drinking.

A current Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) initiative is their "Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving." This current campaign has four main elements:

Increasing high-visibility law enforcement A push for Ignition interlock device regulations Promoting advancement of vehicle technologies Gaining popular public support

Through education, MADD gains support to influence legislation and bring about a positive change to what they consider one of the United States' biggest challenges. Their website states that since the program's inception in 1980, more than 300,000 lives have been saved, due in large part to the organization's efforts.

The extensive website, www.madd.org, also contains information catered to youth under 21, drunk driving facts and statistics, and chat rooms and forums for discussion on how to prevent underage drinking and drunk driving.

Website visitors can help by taking any of the following actions:

Taking MADD's Pledge to Eliminate Drunk Driving Supporting ignition interlocks for all convicted DUI offenders Sending emails to state and federal lawmakers Making donations to MADD

http://www.icap.org/PolicyTools/ICAPBlueBook/BlueBookModules/1AlcoholEducation/tabid/162/Default.aspx