Drunk driver rams into pedestrians outside Bengaluru hotel, CCTV captures shocking visuals

In yet another case of drunk driving, a man rammed his speeding car into pedestrians outside a hotel in Bengaluru’s HSR Layout area. The shocking visuals were captured by the CCTV near the hotel. The news agency ANI posted the clip that showed the white car ploughing into the unsuspecting people walking on the footpath. The 9-second clip is yet another proof that despite stringent measures, there has been no curb on the menace of drunk driving. According to a report by The Hindu, seven people were injured in the crash.

The accident took place on Sunday at around 3 pm. The report has identified the accused driver as one Rajendra. He runs a travel agency and was in an inebriated state at the time of the incident. “We arrested Rajendra, who has been booked for driving under the influence of alcohol and also for rash and dangerous driving,” a police officer was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

#WATCH Bengaluru: A drunk person drove his car over pedestrians on a footpath at HSR Layout locality. The driver was taken into police custody & injured were admitted to hospital. Case registered. #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/mmS8e69MPw

— ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2019

In India, 19 people die every day due to this menace of drunk driving, an IndiaSpend report said. In 2015, 501,423 road accidents were reported in India, of which 16,298 (3.2%) were attributed to driving under the influence of alcohol, according to the figures by the ministry of road transport & highways (MORTH). The data further reveal that 6,755 people died and 18,813 injured in drink-driving accidents in 2015.

Earlier this year, more than 2,000 people were booked for drunk driving on New Year’s Eve. The data - Mumbai (455), Delhi (509), Kolkata (182), Chennai (263) and Bengaluru(667) – showed scant regard by the public to road safety rules.. However, this was a 26% drop from 615 cases in Mumbai, 33% drop from 765 cases in Delhi, and 52% drop from 1,390 cases in Bengaluru last year.

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a punishable offence, attracting a fine of up to Rs 2,000 and/or imprisonment for up to six months on first offence, and a fine of up to Rs 3,000 and/or imprisonment for up to two years if repeated within three years, under the Section 185 of The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. A person can be punished if alcohol exceeding 30 milligram per 100 millilitre of blood is detected in a breath analyser test, according to the Act.

Drunk driver rams into pedestrians outside Bengaluru hotel, CCTV captures shocking visuals