‘Make alcohol test must after mishaps’
Taking a serious stand over the issue of drunken driving, a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) court has ordered the Delhi police chief to make it mandatory to have breath analyser tests of the drivers involved in road accidents.
Noting that even if in the past the court had earlier directed the concerned authorities to implement the rules “to no avail, “MACT judge Swarana Kanta Sharma said, “It is again directed that necessary directions be given to all the police stations investigating such cases and specifically to the MACT cells..... That such test should be mandatorily carried out and report be filed along with the detailed accident report.”
The court also ordered the DCP, central district, to file a compliance report in this regard within 10 days.
The court passed the order while awarding a compensation of `14,200 to Rama Shankar, who was injured in a road accident near Darya Ganj in May 2009.
During the investigation, Vipin Kumar, driver of the offending vehicle, was found under the influence of liquor.
“The drivers know that even if they are found to be driving in drunken state, they will only be challaned and if any accident is caused...It will be the insurance company who will pay the compensation amount. Since no financial burden falls upon them, they even do not hesitate to drive heavy vehicles after consuming liquor,” the judge said.
The court, accordingly, ordered that drivers of the offending vehicles would pay 5 per cent of the compensation amount awarded to the injured if he was under the influence of liquor when the accident occurred. “I am of the view that since the driver was driving the vehicle under the influence of liquor, he should also be burdened with some liability to pay part of the compensation,” the judge said.
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