Mumbai: Drunk driving has cost Kanhayya Nadar (41), a driver by profession, a lot more than the Rs 2,050 fine and a day of imprisonment. The six-month suspension of his licence means he could lose his job too.
Nadar, who drives the car of the owner of a Churchgate-based shipping company, was riding back home on a bike on August 1, when the cops stopped him at Colaba. He tested positive for drunk driving and was imprisoned for a day and fined.
Though Nadar was riding a bike when caught, the police suspended his two-wheeler as well as four-wheeler licence. Now, Nadar, who is the sole earning member of his family, is worried about what he will do for the next six months. Said Nadar, "I have faced my punishment. But, instead of only suspending my two-wheeler licence, the police suspended my four-wheeler license too." Nadar has not yet informed his boss about the incident. "I might lose my job. As I have no other option, I have been driving despite the licence suspension.
He added, "I have sworn not to drink and drive again. I request the RTO and traffic police to retract the suspension on my four-wheeler driving license."
The rule
A senior RTO official said, "As per the RTO rules, we suspend only the licence of the vehicle the offender is driving in such cases. The offender is given a receipt of partial suspension. In case of death or severe accident, both licences are suspended."
However, Harish Baijal, traffic DCP (city), said, "As a deterrent, we may suspend both licences, in some cases."
The record so far
Over 20,000 drivers have been caught for drunk driving since June 2007. More than 7,100 people have been sent to jail and over 7,000 licences have been suspended.
Source: http://www.mid-day.com/news/2008/aug/070808DrunkDriving.htm
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