The high prevalence of drunk driving on the national Capital’s roads points to the failure of punitive provisions. Official data shows a sharp spike in drunk driving fines this year up to March 31, compared with the corresponding period last year. The scale of this problem is evident from a recent survey which found that 81% of the respondents reported driving while drunk during August-December last year. The costs of this are significant. As per a 2023 report by IIT-Delhi researchers, official data pegs driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs as the cause of just 3% of road accident deaths, but independent studies, also referred to in the research, say alcohol/drugs could be a contributing factor for 20-30% of fatal crashes.

The high prevalence of drunk driving on the national Capital’s roads points to the failure of punitive provisions. Official data shows a sharp spike in drunk driving fines this year up to March 31, compared with the corresponding period last year. The scale of this problem is evident from a recent survey which found that 81% of the respondents reported driving while drunk during August-December last year. The costs of this are significant. As per a 2023 report by IIT-Delhi researchers, official data pegs driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs as the cause of just 3% of road accident deaths, but independent studies, also referred to in the research, say alcohol/drugs could be a contributing factor for 20-30% of fatal crashes.

One reason for this is inadequate deterrence.

Indian law provides for both fines and imprisonment — fines, of course, are the de facto punishment. However, at ₹10,000 for the first offence and ₹15,000 for the second (within three years of the first), these have had only limited effect in curbing drunk driving. India needs to draw lessons in deterrence from countries that have managed to deal with this situation better. For instance, a 2022 research indicates that strengthening laws against drinking and driving, especially a zero-tolerance policy for new drivers, helped Germany bring down alcohol-related crashes by 50% between 2000 and 2018. Tying fines to the disposable income of the driver — with a high enough floor — as Germany does is something Indian policymakers could consider. German law also provides for licence revocation in certain circumstances, following which the offender can apply for a licence only after the expiry of a certain period. Another means to deter drunk driving is to bring down the permissible limit of blood alcohol content. At 0.03%, India’s is lower than the permissible limit in many western nations but higher than that in many other countries where the incidence of drunk driving accidents is low.