Mumbai: In Mumbai, Alistair Pareira gets 180 days for killing seven people in a drunken-driving episode. In the US, Paris Hilton gets 45 days for violating parole conditions, which included a suspended licence, after being arrested last year for driving under the influence of alcohol.

There is no link between the two incidents and yet there is. The long arm of the law works more effectively in one country and there are no guesses which one.

In India, given the high death rate due to road accidents, there is a growing demand from activists and legal experts for a more stringent law for driving under influence (DUI) of alcohol or DUI offences, as it is referred to in most Western countries. Maharashtra alone recorded over 10,000 road fatalities in 2006.

The lack of stringent laws is best illustrated by the Alistair Pareira case. In the UK, for instance, Pareira would have attracted a maximum of 14 years imprisonment, an unlimited fine, and a cancellation of his driving licence for two years. The sessions judge did say that Pareira was driving carelessly and was drunk but let him off on the more serious offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder which attracts 10 years, and instead sent him to jail for six months.

Laws are far more stringent for DUI offences in most developed countries, where rash driving is treated as a serious crime. In Australia, for instance, the police have powers to stop motorists randomly and subject him or her to a breath analyzer without reason. In the US and UK though the police have to give reasons for the breath analyzer test. In India, the breath analyzer is only occasionally used (traffic police in most cities are not equipped with new machines); and a new law on confiscation of a driving licence if any one fails the test is only being contemplated.

The incidence of drunken driving in the West has reduced as a result of tough laws, which set an example. For instance, barely days ago, prosecutors in Los Angeles had filed misdemeanour charges, including drunk driving, against rapper-actress Eve over a traffic accident in Hollywood. Eve was a 2001 Grammy award winner along with Gwen Stefani. In most countries, including India, the permissible blood alcohol limit is 0.05 %—it is lower in case of learners and certain other categories in other countries—and Eve’s test showed up 0.08. She faces a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. But a statutory minimum sentence would include a minimum of three years probation, a fine of at least $390 and an alcohol education program.

The world over, drunken driving is an offence that also attracts demerit points and a graded punishment that could see the driver losing his licence. In comparison, in India, punishment for the first offence for ‘driving under influence’ of alcohol is a maximum sentence of six months or a fine of Rs 2,000. If a driver gets caught again within three years, he could attract up to two years in jail or a Rs 3,000 fine. These measures, as they stand, are clearly ineffective, say experts. Legal delays ensure that the jail sentence is often an empty threat, and the prescribed fine is barely a deterrent.

Fatal accidents caused by a drunk driver are not even classified as a separate offence under Indian law although Maharashtra has woken up to the dangers of drinking and driving and is now stepping on the gas to make fatal accidents or accidents resulting in grievous injuries a non-bailable offence punishable by at least seven years in jail.

Experts say what is needed is a graded system of punishment for drunk driving cases not involving accidents, as in the UK, Australia, and Switzerland. “The need is to ensure that no person who has consumed alcohol above permissible limits be allowed to drive,” said Mahesh Jethmalani who adds that the idea of punishment is not and should not be vendetta, the aim is to reform people. He suggests a point system for repeat offences and revocation of licences. The only practical difficulty with this idea is that the traffic records are still not computerised and hence it is difficult to track the offender and the multiple offences. Noted defence counsel V R Manohar too says that laws in India need to be amended and fast.

GRADED PUNISHMENT

In the UK, the first driving under influence (DUI) offence can earn the driver demerit points; accumulation of such points can result in a suspension or cancellation of driving licence. In Canada, for the first DUI offence, the laws call for a $600 fine and one-year driving prohibition or jail time; the second DUI offence attracts a 14-day jail term and two years of driving prohibition. There are similar provisions in Victoria and New Zealand. A licence once cancelled in Australia can be re-issued on court orders but the driver is placed at zero tolerance for next three years.

Source: TOI(Mumbai epaper)

Entry Filed under: Mumbai Traffic News