Poll Analysis | Pay Bribe Even If Not Drunk
A Bangalorean recounts her experience with the Bangalore Traffic Police (BTP) who demanded a bribe of Rs.1000. They were accused of drunken driving even though they were not drunk and were threatened of being arrested. Of late, several complaints posted in IPAB on BTP have highlighted the new manner in which the latter mint money.
I Paid a Bribe conducted a poll asking our readers, “Have you bribed a police officer for drunken driving in spite of not being drunk?” 76% of the readers haven’t paid a bribe while 19% has been in the middle of such a situation. The remaining 5% resisted the demands of the police.
Drinking and driving laws are unusually stringent in India as opposed to other countries. To a certain extent, these laws are extremely beneficial in the prevention of accidents and to ensure road safety. The permissible limit of alcohol consumption is 30mg of alcohol per 100 ml in a person’s bloodstream, which not many people are aware of. When the guardians of law begin to flout rules for their personal benefit, one must give a second thought to how ‘beneficial’ these rules actually are. In most cases, individuals caught for ‘drunken driving’ don’t cross this limit. Yet there are instances when they end up paying a fine or a bribe the police to get away.
Citizens are expected to drive responsibly without flouting the norms by either restricting their alcohol consumption or by driven to their destinations by someone who is not intoxicated. As far as traffic police force is concerned, the higher authorities ought to take a closer look at what their subsidiaries are up to while on duty.