In India, a lot of effort and resources are being put into develop anti-drunk driving technology for vehicles. It is very important for every country to strictly implement these laws so that there is less chance of one of its citizens getting involved in the fatal accident caused by drunk driving. The number of people being involved in DUI accidents has been increasing over the years. The statistics have shown a steep rise over the past 15 years in India as well as in other countries. The bill for implementing anti-drunk driving technology in vehicles has been passed by the government of India but there is no guarantee that it would actually help in curbing the rising number of accidents.
In India, another pressing issue is how to fund the construction and upgrade of roads and highways. There are no funds available from the central government to upgrade the existing infrastructure. A section in the law framed “Behavior causing impairment” which is meant to include certain drunken behavior such as driving while impaired, reckless driving, and the like. But the problem is that the government is yet to find the right way to define “behaviour causing impairment”. That is why the government is yet to find solutions to this pressing problem.
Another important area that is receiving attention in the anti-drunk driving technology and legislation in India is the mandatory usage of crash avoidance systems in vehicles. Currently, only fourteen states in the country use this kind of system. However, the National Institute for Road Accident Research is researching on ways to come up with a universal crash avoidance system that would work on all vehicles irrespective of their make and model. According to estimates, there are about twenty million vehicles across the world that are fitted with such systems. If the current funding introduced in the National Infrastructure Development Plan (NIDA Plan) is approved, the research work will go a long way in making the road safety system compulsory for all vehicles.
An amendment bill has been introduced in the Lower House to this effect. The proposed bill has been passed by the lower house and is going through the Upper House now. A committee in the Lower House has already approved the bill and is expected to pass it soon. According to an independent research, a auto manufacturers in India is working on the auto safety standardization for vehicles, but the auto manufacturers in the US and global car companies are yet to agree on it. There is another bill that has been introduced in the Lower House to introduce crash recovery systems to all vehicles in the fleet.
“What if the bill is passed for all vehicles fitted with anti-drunk driving technology to have crash recovery system? Will the automakers lose out? The answer is a definite no. These new systems are far more sophisticated than what we have at present. It will give the regulators headaches if these new technologies are found to be insufficient. But will the regulators give the benefit of error prevention as well?”
A bipartisan bill has been introduced in the US House of Representatives with strong support from both sides. The House of Representatives is looking forward to a discussion with the Senate before bringing up a compromise anti-drunk driving bill. The compromise bill has a good chance of passing, which means that within three years of the enactment of the anti-drunk driving technology, vehicles would be fitted with anti-drink gadgets in all vehicles. With lawmakers tending to get into political hot water, the prospect of this bill becoming law has receded.
