Samar of discontent: Twisted Sobriety

There has to be stricter laws and accountability for drunken driving.

mumbai car crash, mumbai lawyer car crash, mumbai lawyer car accident, mumbai lawyer drunk driving, drunk driving, salman khan, salman khan hit and run, hit and run, india news

Police inspect the Audi involved in the accident in Mumbai.(Express Photo by: Kevin DSouza)

Apparently inebriated, Jahnavi Gadkar, Vice President of the legal cell of a major corporation, recently rammed her Audi headlong into a taxi in Mumbai, killing two passengers and injuring several others. Jahnavi’s name will now be added to the roster of other rich and infamous motorists such as Alistair Pereira, Nooriya Haveliwala, Sanjeev Nanda, Neel Chatterjee and Salman Khan, who ended up not only wrecking their own vehicles but also taking the lives of innocents in the process.

Despite what the law dictates, driving oneself home after having a few pegs is standard practice in India. We insist that we automatically sober up the instant we get behind the wheel and are in complete control of our motor faculties. The international practice of appointing a designated driver from within a group hasn’t caught on and even though late-night drivers are available in major metros, most party hearties prefer to down one for the road rather than spend on a chauffeur service. As a result, on any given evening, and particularly on weekends, we have a bunch of intoxicated maniacs on the loose. Accidents are inevitable. Cars are overturned and smashed, pedestrians are knocked down, homeless people sleeping on the streets are run over and occasionally the driver of the vehicle and his co-passengers are killed.

[related-post]

The media then goes into overdrive and screams murder, baying for retribution and demanding a clampdown on drunk driving. Overnight, some rich brat earns nationwide notoriety for his irresponsible action. The more expensive the car, the shriller the new story.

Story continues below this ad

Our judicial and police system is still lenient towards drunk driving. Often, it’s only after a public outcry that the guilty are brought to book. Otherwise, a poor chauffeur usually serves a jail term on the behalf of his wealthy employer, whose conscience is assuaged by the fact that he has paid off the victim’s family.

A few years ago, the Mumbai police came down heavily on drunk driving. They routinely conducted breathalyser tests at check posts, carted off culprits to jail and shamed them publicly through the media. Overnight, thousands of Mumbaikars vowed never to drink and drive again, terrified at the ramifications of being caught by the cops. The Delhi police even began to hold pub owners culpable for allowing tipsy customers to get behind the wheel. Desis living abroad obey anti-drunk driving laws implicitly for fear of being jailed, losing their license or being deported. The same stringent measures need to be applied across this nation.

But back home, we Indians, firm believers in the maxim of jugaad, feel that we can wheedle our way out of any sticky situation. I recently read that an Indian firm has developed a pill that can fool breathalysers by masking the alcohol content in the body. But it is utter insanity to murder innocents and then spend a fortune on legal fees and bribes when karma, and the law, finally catches up with you.

samarofdiscontent@gmail.com

📣 For more lifestyle news, click here to join our WhatsApp Channel and also follow us on Instagram