MARGAO: Road accidents in the South Goa district, particularly in the Salcetetaluka, have constantly remained high over the years, with driving under the influence of alcohol being a major cause.
The numbers speak for themselves. As many as 158 cases involving inebriated motorists were recorded in Salcete’s tourism hub Colva alone till November 15 this year. In comparison, 139 such cases were booked by the local police station last year and just 25 were registered in 2021.
The rise in detection has been attributed to the two alcometers provided to the Colva police recently.
“Alcohol consumption surely affects any person driving a vehicle, whether they are using a two-wheeler, four-wheeler or even a heavy vehicle,” said PI Filomena Costa of the Colva traffic cell.
Significantly, the Salcetetaluka had registered a total of 129 cases of driving under the influence of alcohol in 2021. Of these, Fatorda police station recorded the highest number, 61, followed by 25 at Colva and 24 at Cuncolim. Maina-Curtorim police booked 12 such cases while Margao police registered only seven.
The numbers were higher in 2019, when the taluka recorded 262 drunken driving cases. Margao led the tally with 113 cases, followed by Maina-Curtorim with 75, Cuncolim with 35, Fatorda with 27 and Colva with 12.
Amarnath Dessai, a Margao-based lawyer, said that as per the law, the permissible limit of alcohol during an alcometer test should be a maximum of 30mg per litre. “Accident cases can be booked under sections 304(A) and 279 of the Indian Penal Code, along with section 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act,” he said.
IPC section 304(A) stipulates that any person who causes the death of another person due to rash and negligent driving can be imprisoned for up to two years, or be fined, or both. Section 279 is a milder section as it stipulates that a person guilty of rash and negligent driving can be imprisoned for up to six months, or be fined, or both.
Section 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act specifies that anybody found driving under the influence of alcohol attracts a jail sentence of six months, a fine of Rs. 10,000 or both for the first offence registered. However, if the person is caught for a second or any subsequent offence of driving under the influence of alcohol, they can be jailed for two years, fined Rs. 15,000, or both.
Not all accidents, however, are due to drunken driving. Some are also the result of rashness and negligence, leaving their victims traumatised.
Gogol resident M S Raikar, for instance, who had met with an accident on June 12, 2022 at Gogol when two scooters collided, said his injured hand has not yet fully recovered. “I cannot use my hand like I would earlier. This is permanent damage caused by the accident,” he lamented.
A woman whose relative died in an accident in the following month within the jurisdiction of the Maina-Curtorim police station said that though a chargesheet was filed, the case has not yet come up for hearing.
At least 41 persons lost their lives in accidents in South Goa till May this year, with Verna, Ponda and Curchorem registering most of them. This includes two minors – a 10-year-old girl who was run over by a minibus at Pajifond, and a two-year-old girl who was hit by a speeding car at Davorlim.
As per police figures, the detection rate in accident cases has gone up to 99 per cent this year from 96 per cent last year.
