Hyderabad: In the last four years, over 15,000 motorists have been jailed for drunken driving in Greater Hyderabad. Another 15,000 were made to either do community service or stand till the raising of the court, in addition to compulsory payment of the challan amount and attending counseling sessions.

Despite the continuous drive against drunken driving, the menace continues unabated. Little Ramya’s death is an example of how drunk driving is dangerous for not only the driver but also other road users.

On an average over 500 people die in road accidents every year in Greater Hyderabad, and 30 per cent of these casualties is attributed directly or indirectly to drunken driving.

Retired scientist of Central Research Road Institute, Delhi, T.S. Reddy said though the continuous drive against drunken driving in the last few years has created a fear factor among many motorists, several factors are responsible for drunk driving cases not coming down, like wine shops on being main roads and by-lanes, permission to drink at these shops, office stress, lack of social responsibility, and driving personal vehicles while going out for drinking.

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Traffic and transport experts and psychologists said if the checks are intensified, more drunken driving cases will come to light. "This can be curbed by increasing drunken driving checks on main roads, near entry points of colonies in the city, and on highways during day and night," said Mr S.V. Nagnath, counselling psychologist with a corporate hospital.

Traffic Training Institute inspector, Goshamahal, M. Srinivasulu, who has been organising special programmes with celebrities to create awareness about the ill effects of drunken driving, said but for the continuous drive against drunken driving, the number of cases would have been more. The drive will continue.