If you are drunk and driving a two wheeler then the risk at your life is even more worse than driving a four wheeler. A latest study by the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) Chandigarh's Departments of Forensic Medicine and Pharmacology on patients brought to its trauma centre found 76 per cent male motorcyclists got injured. Surprisingly, more than half of the motorcyclists had not worn hamlets.
The study conducted in 2016 covered over 200 drivers involved in road accidents mainly between 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. It was found that most of the accidents (48.5 per cent) were observed during this period. However, 141 (70.5 per cent) accidents were observed on weekdays whereas 59 (29.5 per cent) accidents were observed during weekends. This study included the drivers who were over 18-years and brought to the emergency departmentwithin six hours of the accident.
Professor at PGIMER's department of forensic medicine, Yogender Singh Bansal told The Statesman that the higher rate of fatal accidents of motorcyclists or cyclists were surprising. "It indicates that the two wheelers are not being checked properly during the drunken driving check-posts. The risk of injury is more for a biker than a car driver. There is a need to take a control over the situation by traffic police," he said.
Meanwhile, Chandigarh's Traffic and Security, Superintendent of Police (SP), Ravi Kumar Singh said it is a matter of concern for his department if the study to be believed. "There is no separate guidelines to check the two wheelers during drunken drivers. We check all the vehicles during such drives to conduct alcohol breath test. We will go through the study and will launch extensive drives to check drunken two wheeler drivers," he said.
Founder of NGO, Arrive Safe Society in Chandigarh, Harman Singh Sidhu, said, "There are other similar studies where alcohol in the body was found more than the permissible limits among drivers. It is not about the alcohol consumption only, but many other adverse effects are related to it. Driver's life is at risk, but the other person at the road is too at danger".
Apart from liquor, the study also found substance consumption in 54.5 per cent four and two wheeler drivers. However, alcohol was the most prevalent substance consumed in 40.5 per cent. At the same time, there were others who were high on opiates (13 per cent), cannabis (7 per cent) and benzodiazepines (7 per cent).