Driving after partying? plan on to raise the 'bar'

HYDERABAD: Revellers between 18 and 35 years might soon have to say no to that pint of beer in case they intend to sit behind the wheel post partying.
In a recent proposal tabled before the Union ministry of road transport and highways, the road safety authority of Telangana has recommended that the permissible blood alcohol content (BAC) for this group of guzzlers be reduced by half ­ from the existing 30 mg per 100 ml to 15 mg per 100 ml.
According to rough estimates, 500 ml of beer or a small 30-ml peg of whiskey is enough to hit the current permissible BAC mark. Wi t h the proposed rule, this legally allowed level for drivers will drop further.
Speaking to TOI about the plan on Friday, T Krishnaprasad, additional director general of road safety, Telangana, said the move was aimed at arrest ing the high rate of drink driving cases reported from across the state, and in the capital city in particular. Records available with the Hyderabad traffic police show that 332 offenders between 18 and 20 years and 7,640 offenders between 21 and 30 years were caught drink driving in 2015. About 20 minors too were caught for the offence.
In 2016 so far, the police have registered 287 cases of drink driving involving offenders between 18 and 20 years and 5,617 cases involving individuals between 21 and 30 years. Among minors, the offenders' count stands at seven.
“Young drivers between 18 and 35 years alone account for 51 per cent of road accident deaths that occur in the state. It is therefore important that we have a different BAC limit for this category of people, as is the case in most parts of the world. In India, however, we have one blanket BAC limit for everybody,“ Krishnaprasad said.
Meanwhile, cops opine that if the proposal is given the go-ahead, the count of young guzzlers caught drink driving in Hyderabad will increase by at least three times. “Most of the people in this age bracket are caught with very high BAC levels -anywhere between 120 and 200 -as per our records.They are also the most dangerous drivers as they tend to get over-confident too soon. If the permissible levels are reduced, the count of offenders from this age group will invariably skyrocket,“ said an inspector regularly deputed on enforcement duty.