Soon, anyone caught driving in an inebriated condition will lose his or her licence as the state government is gearing up to amend the traffic rules in view of rising cases of drunk driving.
"A detailed policy, with a provision for cancelling driving licences in cases of drunk driving, will be formed shortly and implemented with immediate effect," state home minister R R Patil said at the concluding ceremony of the Maharashtra State Road Safety Drive here on Saturday.
A total of 57,000 drunk driving cases were registered across the state last year, and on New Year's Eve alone, 8,000 cases were registered in the state, said Patil. "These figures are shameful. Despite strict action by the traffic department, there seems to be a continuous rise in the number of such cases. Hence, we have decided to cancel the licence of a person involved in drunk driving."
Seveny-five per cent of accidents happen due to the drivers' mistakes and it is imperative that the driver is penalised, said Patil.
The minister announced that traffic lessons would soon be part of the school syllabus to inculcate a traffic sense in students right from the young age.
According to the statistical information given by Patil, every year, 12,000 people in Maharashtra are killed in road accidents -- the second biggest cause of death after natural death -- while 25,000 people are injured permanently every year.
"Those killed in road mishaps are in the age group of 18-25 years, which shows lack of traffic awareness. Hence, we have decided to traffic lessons in the school syllabus. We have already spoken to the education department and students will be taught traffic rules in schools soon."
"We are working on the policy (of cancelling the licences in drunk driving cases)," said state transport commissioner Dilip Jadhav, who was present at the function.BOX
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