DUI by kanishq dhas

 DUI or driving under the influence is a very common crime that all of us are aware of but also guilty of. Most of us have seen police checkpoints in cities on weekends stopping and checking breath of people from their cars, well that’s called a breath analyser and it can tell just how many drinks you had that night. Well sort of, it detects milligrams per 100 millilitres of alcohol in your body and decides whether you are capable to drive without being a threat to others. Drunk driving is offence under section 185 of The motor vehicles act 1988, as per the Motor Vehicle Act, driving by a drunken person or by a person under the influence of drugs is punishable for the first offence with imprisonment for a term of up to six months and/or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees. Second or subsequent offence, if committed within three years of similar offence is punishable with imprisonment for a term of up to two years and/or with fine of three thousand rupees. 

    Driving by a drunken person or by a person under the influence of drugs. Whoever, while driving, or attempting to drive, a motor vehicle:

1. Has, in his blood, alcohol exceeding 30 mg. Per 100 ml. Of blood detected in a test by a breath analyser, or

2. Is under this influence of a drug to such an extent as to be incapable of exercising proper control over the vehicle, shall be punishable for the first offence with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees, or with both; and for a second or subsequent offence, if committed within three years of the commission of the previous similar offence, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to three thousand rupees, or with both. Explanation.—For the purposes of this section, the drug or drugs specified by the Central Government in this behalf, by notification in the Official Gazette, shall be deemed to render a person incapable of exercising proper control over a motor vehicle. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2016 recently. The Amendment bill aims to improve road safety and provides for higher level of fines and penalty for drunk driving. The penalty for drunk driving under the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2016 has been increased from Rs.2000 to Rs.10,000.

In India drunk driving is very common and neglected in many cases, the legal drinking age varies from state to state from 18 to 25 and in some states alcohol is completely forbidden. Nonetheless many people rampantly drink and drive and put other people at risk. There ought to be far stricter regulations in place for DUI and we need to spread the awareness of the same. It all starts with you, become the change you want to see in the world. Next time don’t drink and drive and don’t let your friends drink and drive, if you do drink and you have to drive make sure you are under the limit of how much you can drink so you don’t get impaired and put other people’s lives at risk.