JAI NARAYAN VYAS UNIVERSITY

Department of Law
B.A. L.L.B. (5 Year)
7th Semester

Criminology
Project Subject: Drunk Driving

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Nityash Solanki Sir Prateethi Singhvi (Roll No. 32)
 Acknowledgement
I would like to express my deepest appreciation to all those who provided me
the possibility to complete this project. A special gratitude I give to our Professor
whose contribution in stimulating suggestions and encouragement helped me to
coordinate my project especially in making of presentation. Furthermore I would
also like to acknowledge with much appreciation the crucial parents who gave the
permission to use all required equipment and the necessary material to complete
the task of making my project. Last but not least, my friends who have invested his
or her full effort in guiding the team in achieving the goal. I have to appreciate the
guidance given by other supervisor as well as the panels especially in our project
presentation that has improved our presentation skills thanks to their comment and
advices.
 INDEX

 INTRODUCTION
 EFFECTS OF DRUNK DRIVING
 INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION
 IMPACT OF DRY VS NON DRY STATE
 LAW RELATED TO DRUNK DRIVING IN INDIA
 EFFORTS TO CURB DRUNK DRIVING

 DRUNKENESS AND CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY

 CASE LAW
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
 INTRODUCTION

Drunken driving is one of the major problems today; this causes several deaths
every year across the world. Alcohol has been successful in making a distinct niche
in daily lives of humans since the centuries of the recorded history. Alcohol has
been found to play a major role in social ills in almost all countries across the
world, but foremost amongst the ills produced by alcohol is its role in traffic
crashes.

Driving under the influence of alcohol has affected and killed countless of people’s
lives. If someone drinks and drives, not only does he possibly put himself at risk,
but his passengers and pedestrians, and other people, who are on the road, are at a
greater risk as well.

According to a survey in every thirty minutes someone’s life is cut short and
families are devastated. Alcohol and driving don't mix, but still, many people love
to drink and drive resulting in numerous road mishaps.

Drunken driving has been recognized as a world menace, based on the stats which
reveal that road accidents cause 1.2 million deaths and 50 million injuries every
year around the world. Out of which 480,000 deaths and 20 million injuries are
caused by drunken driving only.

The role of Alcohol in traffic safety has produced more controversies than any
other topic. After drinking, the judgment power of the driver gets impaired - a
threat to road safety. Due to its effects, driver tends to take more risks, becomes
more aggressive and takes a longer reaction time.
It has been well established that the relative probability of causing crash increases
with the rising blood alcohol levels keeping road safety at stake.

Governments are taking steps to prevent drunk driving by introducing new laws
like recently Supreme Court of India has ordered to close all the liquor shops near
the highways. A driver having blood alcohol level of 30 mg per 100ml of blood is
considered drunk according to the Indian law. The traffic police have also been
provided with alcohol sensor tools to check whether the driver is drunk or not.

According to the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 a person can get an imprisonment of up
to six months and penalty up to two thousand rupees. These steps have obviously
reduced the road accidents due to drunk driving to some extent but have not been
able to stop it completely.
 EFFECTS OF DRUNK DRIVING

Effects of alcohol on driving Effects of alcohol on risk of crash

Effects of alcohol in post crash phase

EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON DRIVING

Any amount of alcohol in your bloodstream can impact your driving ability. The
effects of alcohol abuse vary greatly, putting you at risk for causing an accident or
highway injury. Safe driving requires the ability to concentrate, make good
judgments and quickly react to situations. However, alcohol affects these skills,
putting yourself and others in danger.

Several ways alcohol impairs driving skills are as follows:

 Slow reaction time

When alcohol is in our system, it affects how quickly we’re able to respond to
different situations. Drinking slows our response time, which can increase the
likelihood of an accident. Therefore, if the car in front of we brakes suddenly or a
pedestrian crosses the street, it will take longer for our brain to process the
situation and prevent an accident.
  Lack of coordination

Heavy drinking affects our motor skills such as eye, hand and foot coordination.
Without crucial coordination skills, we may be unable to avoid an impending
harmful situation. Some telltale signs of reduced coordination include trouble
walking, swaying and inability to stand straight. Too much alcohol can even make
it difficult to get in our car and find its ignition.

 Reduce concentration

Alcohol, no matter how much or how little, can influence concentration. With
driving, there are many things that require our undivided concentration such as
staying in lane, speed, other cars on the road and traffic signals. Our attention span
is dramatically reduced with drinking, which significantly increases the chance of
an accident.

 Decrease vision

Excessive alcohol consumption can negatively impact our vision. After drinking,
we may notice that our vision is blurred or that we’re unable to control our eye
movement. Impaired vision can affect how we judge the distance between our car
and other vehicles on the road. Additionally, fewer objects may be visible within
our peripheral vision, or what we can see to either side when looking straight
ahead.

 Inhibit judgment

Our brain controls how we judge certain circumstances. When operating a

motorized vehicle, our judgement skills play an important role in how we make
decisions. For instance, we need to be able to foresee potential problems and make
clear decisions if another vehicle cuts us off. Our judgement helps us stay alert and
aware of surrounding conditions while driving.

EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON RISK OF CRASH

Alcohol impairment has a significant effect on the crash risk of drivers, riders and
pedestrians; it is routinely reported as one of the most serious contributing factors
to road crashes in motorized countries. Drivers who have been drinking have a
much higher risk of involvement in crashes than those with no alcohol in their
blood, and this risk grow rapidly with increasing blood alcohol concentration. For
motorcyclists, having a BAC over 0.05 g/100 ml has been estimated to increase
crash risk by up to 40 times compared to having a zero BAC. Alcohol can start to
affect many of your senses after only one drink. No matter the circumstances, we
should never drink and drive. It’s not worth the risk of putting ourselves and others
in danger.

 BAC of 0.02

Lack of judgment, increased relaxation, slightly increased body temperature, mood

swings, decreased visual functionality, inability to multi-task.

 BAC of 0.05

Increased lack of judgment, exaggerated behavior, lack of coordination, reduced

ability to detect moving objects, lack of alertness, lack of inhibitions, decreased
small-muscle control, reduced response rate
  BAC of 0.08

Reduced muscle coordination, lack of judgment, lack of reasoning, lack of self-

control, loss of short-term memory, reduced ability to concentrate, lack of speed
control, reduced ability to process information

 BAC of 0.10

Poor coordination, slowed reaction times, reduced ability to control the vehicle,
reduced ability to keep vehicle within a lane and brake at appropriate times, slurred
speech

 BAC of 0.15

Extreme loss of balance, nearly zero muscle control, vomiting, impaired visual and
auditory information processing, significantly reduced attention to driving tasks.

EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL IN POST CRASH PHASE

It is clear from the previous section that alcohol compromises driving performance
and thus increases the risk of a road traffic collision. But alcohol also has
significant effects in the post-crash phase which should be borne in mind.

1) Alcohol intoxication complicates the assessment and management of patients.

 The effects of alcohol can mimic the symptoms of a head injury.
 Alcohol intoxication predisposes the patient to more severe injuries.
 Intoxicated patients may not report pain or tenderness.
  Alcohol may interact with medications, particularly those used for pain relief
and sedation.
 Alcohol intoxication can complicate surgery and can influence the
anaesthetist’s choice of anaesthetic drug.

2) Alcohol exacerbates underlying chronic diseases.

 Patients with alcohol problems may have underlying medical and/or
psychiatric conditions which can complicate their management.
 Alcoholism intoxication may exacerbate pre-existing conditions such as
cardiac disease, impaired blood clotting and infectious diseases.

3) Alcohol increases recidivism.

 Patients who are alcohol positive at the time of their injury are greatly at risk
for subsequent re-injury.
 Among drink-driving offenders, many repeatedly re-offend.

4) Alcohol complicates outcome.

 Intoxicated patients have an increased likelihood of sustaining some type of
complication during their recovery phase – most notably an infection such as
pneumonia.
 International ATTENTION
Over the last few years road safety has received increasing international attention.

 In January 2010 members of the UN Road Safety Collaboration who are

Consortium Partners to the new Bloomberg Philanthropies funded Road
Safety in 10 Countries Project ( RS10 Project) visited Cambodia, China,
India and Viet Nam. Consortium Partners from EMBARQ, GRSP, Johns
Hopkins University, the World Bank and WHO met with counterparts in
Ministries of Health and Transport and their respective colleagues in these
countries. Discussions focused on the Project's overall goals and objectives.

 In China and India preliminary discussions were held on the regions within
each country where the project may focus as well as the particular risk
factors which may be addressed, such as drinking and driving, helmets or
seat-belts.

 In November 2009, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced a contribution of

US$ 125 million -the largest single donation to global road safety to date -to
support road safety projects in ten countries and monitor progress at global
level. India is among ten countries where WHO, along with consortium
partners, are implementing the Road Safety Project (RS 10) to reduce death
and disability through road traffic injury prevention projects.
 The Indian arm of Diageo Plc, the world’s largest liquor company, has
initiated a campaign to curb drunken driving and underage drinking, in
association with road safety organizations and the Union government. The
company has tied up with the Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE),
the ministry of road transport & highways and the International Road
Federation (IRF) to try and reduce serious injuries and deaths related to
drinking and driving. The ‘Diageo Road to Safety’ programme spanning 30
cities across nine states aims to curb road accidents by working with police
officers and focusing on preventing drunken driving, underage drinking and
excessive drinking in India, said Abanti Sankaranarayanan, managing
director of Diageo India.
 IMPACT OF DRY VS NON DRY STATE
The use of alcohol in India varies between states. The report, which focused on this
fact, found that accidents in dry states are significantly lower than those in non-dry
states.

Non-Dry States-Tamil Nadu, a non-dry state, recorded the highest number of

drunk driving accidents countrywide. Jharkhand, another non-dry state, had almost
10 times the amount of drunk driving accidents than the national average.

Dry states – The consumption of alcohol is being prohibited in few parts of the
country. In India, the prohibition exists in the states of Gujarat, Nagaland, parts of
Manipur as well as parts of Lakshadweep. The state of Kerala also started the
process of implementation and is on the path to become a dry state.

Gujarat – The ban on consumption of alcohol in Gujarat is since 1961 as a tribute

of Mahatma Gandhi. The ban of alcohol was a severe blow to the state as Gujarat
was a developing region and it could have been in a better position after bringing
the alcohol. The 16000 long coastline and the rich heritage of the state is unable to
attract a lot of tourists with a ban on alcohol.

Nagaland – The consumption of alcohol was banned in the Nagaland in the year
1989 under the Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition Act. In 2014, around 500 illegal
bars in Dimapur, the largest city of the state, were shut down.

Manipur – The prohibition on consumption of alcohol was imposed in few parts of

the state by R.K Ranbir Singh government. It came into effect from 1 April, 1991.
Later on, the state legislative assembly passed the Manipur Liquor Prohibition Bill,
2002 which lifted the prohibition in five districts of the state.

Lakshadweep – The union territory of Lakshadweep has completely banned the

consumption and sale of alcohol. The consumption of alcohol is permitted only in
the island of Bangaram which is an inhabited island.

Kerala – On August 21, 2014, the Chief Minister of Kerala announced that the
state will implement the consumption of alcohol in the near future. The state will
be turned into an alcohol free state within 10 years. Kerala is the India's largest
consumer of alcohol. As the first step towards prohibition, around 418 bars in the
state were forced to shut down.

Whilst the report does show a general trend of more accidents in states where
alcohol is prevalent, there are disparities. In Goa, where alcohol is both cheap and
easily accessible, the state only recorded 19 drunk driving accidents in 2015.
LAW RELATED TO DRUNK DRIVING IN INDIA
 LEGAL DRINKING AGE

In India, the legal age for drinking varies from 18 years to 25 years from state to
state, while some states have completely banned alcohol. For instance, state like
Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and others have a legal drinking age of 18
years. States like Delhi, Haryana and others have a legal drinking age of 25 years,
while most states have a legal drinking age of 21 years. Consumption of alcohol is
completely banned in the states of Gujarat, Bihar, Manipur and Nagaland, as well
as the union territory of Lakshadweep.

 DRUNK DRIVING – ALCOHOL LIMIT IN INDIA

Any person who in his/her blood has alcohol exceeding 30 mg. per 100 ml. of
blood, detected in a test by a breath analyser is said to be driving under the
influence or drunk driving. The same also applies to any person who is under the
influence of a drug to such an extent as to be incapable of exercising proper control
over the vehicle.

 DRUNK DRIVING PUNISHMENT

Currently, Section 185 in The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 makes driving under the
influence a criminal offence in India. 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 upto 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 upto two years and/or with fine of three thousand rupees.
  SECTION 185 OF THE MOTOR VEHICLES ACT, 1988

Driving by a drunken person or by a person under the influence of drugs. Whoever,

while driving, or attempting to drive, a motor vehicle:

 (a) has, in his blood, alcohol exceeding 30 mg. per 100 ml. of blood detected
in a test by a breath analyser, or
 (b) 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.

 MOTOR VEHICLE (AMENDMENT) BILL 2016

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.
 eFFORTS TO CURB DRUNK DRIVING

1) Breathalysers in nightclubs are just one recent example of India’s efforts to curb
drunk driving.

2) On December 15, 2016, the Supreme Court ordered closure of all liquor shops
within a 500m range along national and state highways and directed governments
to cease issuing excise licenses after March 31, 2017. Shortly after, a bench led by
Chief Justice of India J S Khehar reduced the limit from 500m to 200m for
“municipal corporation, city, town or local authority”, provided the population was
20,000 or less.

3) In March 2016, Pune traffic police admitted to taking a “shame strategy” stance
to drunk drivers in the city. An article in the Times of India stated that the director-
general of police, Praveen Dixit, initiated a new practice of publishing the names
of such offenders, with their age, address and blood alcohol content, on local
traffic police websites to ‘name and shame’ offenders. Dixit reportedly expressed
his hope that publicly shaming individuals would act as a deterrent for others and
help to challenge the tendency for people to drink and drive.

4) In New Delhi, the non-profit Community Against Drunken Driving (CADD) has
been educating the public about the perils of drunkards at the wheel for 14 years.
Founder Prince Singhal says CADD projects address issues like drunk driving,
minimum age of consumption, responsible drinking, enforcements and stronger
legislation. With its efforts, in conjunction with the police, CADD claims to have
increased the rate of prosecution of drunk drivers from just four a year to almost
four per week.
5) India’s tech city, Bengaluru, where the number of drunk driving cases is more
than twice that of New Delhi and Mumbai, is relying on tech innovations to reduce
the high statistics. Muthu Kumar Ramachandran, from Coimbatore, designed a
device called Hi-Tech Drink and Drive Preventive System for Automobiles. Once
installed in the dashboard of any car or two-wheeler, the device would not allow
vehicles to start if the driver is drunk. In case it does start, the vehicle would stop
within 30 seconds of detecting any abnormal pulse rate.

In spite of a variety of methods, from educating people to legislative changes, the

problem of drunk driving persists. In addition to the steps taken, India can also
learn from other countries where the menace of drunk driving is being challenged
with greater success.
DRUNKENESS AND CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY

Consumption of alcohol and intoxicating beverages results into drunkenness.

Therefore, a word must be said about ‘drunkenness’ as a defence for criminal
responsibility. Section 85 of the Indian Penal Code provides:

“Nothing is an offence which is done by a person who at the time of doing it, by
reason of intoxication, was incapable of knowing the nature of the act, or that what
he is doing is either wrong or contrary to law provided that the thing which
intoxicated him was administered to him without his knowledge or against his
will.”

The above provision makes it clear that voluntary drunkenness is no excuse for the
commission of a crime. Nevertheless, drunkenness, does not, in the eye of the law,
make an offence more heinous. But if a man is made to drink through stratagem or
the fraud of others or through ignorance or any other means causing intoxication
without the man’s knowledge or against his will, he is excused.

If a person, by the unskilfulness of his physician or the connivance of his enemies

eats or drinks such a thing as causes frenzy, this puts him in the same condition
with any other frenzy and equally excuses him.

Section 84 of the Indian Penal Code provides immunity from criminal

responsibility on the ground of unsoundness of mind. Unsoundness of mind can be
caused due to madness, sickness, lunacy or intoxication. Thus, insanity brought on
by drunkenness is a good defence provided it is caused involuntarily.
The High Court of Madhya Pradesh in Jethuram Sukhra Nagbanshi v. State,
disallowed the defence of involuntary intoxication to the accused under Section 85
of IPC and held that since the accused drank liquor at persuasion of his father to
alleviate pain, the intoxication was neither without his knowledge nor could it be
said to be against his will.

The Court observed that Section 85 lays down the principle of English law
formulated by Baron Parke in Pearson v. R., wherein it was held that “voluntary
drunkenness is no excuse for crime. If a party be made drunk by strategies or the
fraud of another, he is not responsible”. Likewise this defence may be allowed to a
person who had been made drunk by the fraud of another or through ignorance, or
coercion practiced by his friend or foe.

The Indian case of Manindra Lal Das v. Emperor, the accused, a police officer,
shot a prostitute with whom he was friendly and wounded her. He was charged
with the offence of attempt to commit murder under Section 307, I.P.C. and
voluntarily causing grievous hurt under Section 326. He set up the defence of
intoxication. The trial Judge in his direction observed:

“If an act is done in a state of intoxication and that intoxication is voluntarily

incurred he is equally liable before the law as if he had done that act in a state of
sobriety.”

The modern processes of development have opened the floodgates of offences and
drug offences are no exception to this global phenomenon. It hardly needs to be
stressed that alcoholism and drug addiction are the off-shoots of modern fast
changing social patterns, hence these twin problems should be tackled in their
socio-legal perspective. Then only concrete results may be possible.
 CASE LAW

 SALMAN SALIM KHAN VS THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA ON 10

DECEMBER, 2015

FACTS: In this case, a famous film star of Hindi cinemas drove the motor vehicle
Toyota Land Cruiser (Registration No.MH 01-DA-32). He drove the said car on
the night between 27.9.2002 and 28.9.2002.He drove the said car in high speed and
in rash and negligent manner and that time he was under the influence of alcohol.
On the night of 27.9.2002 at about 9:30 p.m. or so the appellant took out the said
car. He was accompanied by his friend one Kamal Khan and his police bodyguard
one Ravindra Himmatrao Patil (since deceased).

According to the case of prosecution the appellant/accused was driving the said car
from his house at Galaxy Apartments Bandra and firstly visited Rain Bar. It is also
the case of prosecution that brother of the appellant one Sohail Khan also visited
Rain Bar at the relevant time and the bodyguard of Sohail Khan was present
outside the Rain Bar.

It is the prosecution's case that at Rain Bar various eatables and drinks were served
to the appellant and his friend and others. After consuming the food and drinks
which included alcohol (Bacardi), a White Rum and some cocktails, the appellant
and his friend left Rain Bar and then visited hotel JW Marriott.

When they started coming back to the house of the appellant via St. Andrews Road
and Hill Road that time the appellant was under the influence of alcohol and was
driving the car at very high speed of about 90 to 100 km. per hour.
Consequently the appellant lost his control over the car while negotiating the right
turn at the junction of St. Andrews Road and Hill Road. The appellant dashed the
said car on the shutters of American Laundry which is situate at the junction. Said
impact resulted in the death of one person by name Nurulla and injuries to four
persons.

HELD: Salman Salim Khan sentenced to five years in jail after being found guilty
of killing a homeless man in a hit-and-run after a night out drinking.

Judge DW Deshpande convicted the 49-year-old of culpable homicide for crashing

his SUV while drunk into a group of homeless men sleeping on the pavement and
then fleeing the scene.
 Bibliography

 Criminology & Penology with Victomology by Prof. N.V Paranjape

 www.shareyouressay.com
 www.indiankanoon.com
 www.ndtv.com
 www.coverfox.com