‘Check outside bars to rein in drunk drivers’ : High Court

HC Directive To Traffic Cops To Curb Menace

Delhi High Court has asked for strict checking outside bars and pubs in the capital in order to prevent drunken driving.

WHAT COURT WANTS

• Strict checking of customers at the bar/pub itself as they come out after drinks. HC say there's no point having random checking at intersections if we know the majority drive themselves after having drinks
• Availability of pre-paid replacement drivers for customers who drive themselves. Drinks to be served only after the customer books a driver to drop him home
• Cops say these are policy decisions that can't be implemented overnight unless backed by judicial orders. Point out replacement drivers can be dangerous for sloshed men and women unless properly verified
• Excise department and traffic police reports say in Delhi, almost 90% people drive back on their own from pubs/ restaurants
• HC was hearing a case of drunk driving, has appointed amicus curiae and sought responses from police. It has also sought response on presence of liquor vends on highways, from the excise department

After going through a report by the excise department and traffic police which said almost 90% of customers going to bars are at the wheel while returning home, Justice J R Midha on Monday asked Delhi Police to get cracking on drunk drivers.

‘‘Why don’t you check them at the bars itself, when they come out to drive? Take some decision, don’t play with lives. Such a rule will save the lives of these consumers and also those who become victims,’’ HC noted, giving four months to the police to say if it was a feasible course of action.

The court struck upon checks outside bars because, according to HC, it would yield better dividends than random checks at key intersections in the city. It also maintained that the concept of ‘‘replacement drivers’’ should be introduced in restaurants and hotels across the city, starting with 5-star hotels. ‘‘When your own report gives such a figure, it is the duty of the police to enforce checks. It is in larger public interest to introduce a condition that pubs/bars serving alcohol shall have replacement drivers and shall serve liquor to a customer (self driven) only after the guest pays to book a replacement driver,’’ it observed.

The police, however, argued that both replacement drivers and checking at pubs could not be implemented instantly as these were policy decisions. Appearing for the police, counsel Mukta Gupta said, ‘‘Unless backed by a judicial order, cops can’t be posted at each pub or bar. We are prosecuting drunk drivers and the accident rate has therefore come down.’’

The police also voiced apprehensions about replacement drivers, saying they would be responsible for dropping sloshed men and women home late at night, leaving them vulnerable.

But the amicus curiae in the case, Anup Bhambhani, pointed out these concerns can be taken care of by adopting precautions like the ones taken while offering pre-paid taxi or valet services in hotels. Bhambhani said when hotels can introduce security measures after 26/11 for better protection of their customers, they could do the same for safety of customers going home after drinks. ‘‘It is the responsibility of hotels that customers return home safely,’’ he added.

It was while dealing with an accidents claim case involving a drunk driver earlier that Justice Midha decided to widen the scope of his intervention by deputing two lawyers as amicus curiae and asked for a list of suggestions. The reports from the authorities came in response to these suggestions.

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