"Gandhian policing" to tackle drunk driving

Hyderabad: In keeping with the changing times, the Hyderabad Traffic Police has come up with a novel idea called Gandhian Policing to drill into the young minds the dangers of drunken and reckless driving. But it doesn't involve policemen at all. It's rather a family affair. What better way to prevent accidents than appeal to the age-old bond between a father and a son?

Under the Gandhian Policing, being run as a campaign christened I Love You Dad, college students are asked to pen "model letters" to their parents promising to adhere to the "safety pledge" drafted by the police.  Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) C V Anand on Tuesday launched the campaign at an informal interaction with students at the G Pulla Reddy College.

"I understand the thrill and joy of driving bikes and I myself have enjoyed it. But it is necessary to take a few precautions, at least for the sake of your parents," he pointed out, urging the boys to think of their parents once before zooming ahead on bikes. He cautioned them not to take safety for granted. "If you didn't meet with an accident till date, even after breaking traffic rules, the law of averages will catch up with you some day," he warned.

Citing a few examples, he said many people argue with traffic cops after being caught talking on the phone while driving.

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"It is illegal...talking on the phone while driving or leaving your hands free while driving. Both are equally dangerous and illegal," he said and recalled an accident on the Punjagutta flyover in which a youngster fell from the overbridge. "He had earphones plugged in and most probably, was talking on the phone or listening to songs while driving," he said.

On wearing helmets too, he screened a video clip of an accident and pointed out how the man could have been saved had he had a helmet on. "Wearing seat belts also increases the chances of survival by 50 per cent. People always complain against the police for issuing challans. But we do it to instill fear of the law among the people," he explained.

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Defending the measures taken up by the police, he said the ratio of policemen to citizens in the city is a poor 1:1800.

"The ongoing drive against drunken driving has instilled some fear among the youngsters as the number of drunken driving cases has come down," he said.

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The students, who put questions to him, promptly wrote letters to their respective fathers following a "model letter" given by the police and took the safety pledge.