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HIGHWAY TO HELL: More Indians die in road accidents than anywhere else in the world.

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More people die in road accidents in India than anywhere else in the world. 90,000 lives are lost to the lethal cocktail of drinking and driving every year. Only two to five per cent drunk drivers are prosecuted.

The recent conviction in the BMW hit-and-run case, begs the question: should there be a harsher punishment for drunk drivers? This Sunday spare a thought and join the CNN-IBN campaign Over the Limit. You can also vote on IBNLive.com to let us whether there should be zero tolerance for drunken driving.

New Delhi: Drinking and driving just don’t mix and there are a lot of the reasons to prove it. Of the nearly three lakh accidents recorded across the country every year, 40 per cent are caused due to drunken driving.

And while the urban driver is the main offender, those driving commercial vehicles on the highways are also adding to the number.

While in Mumbai, 23,075 cases of drunken driving were registered since June 2008, Delhi saw 5500 cases registered against defaulters since January. Till July 2008, 19,110 people were booked for driving under the influence of alcohol in Bangalore.

Even though the ongoing police crackdown on errant drivers has failed to see a decrease in the number of defaulters, some say the existing laws that prescribe license cancellation, fine or imprisonment up to a maximum of two years are enough to discourage drunken driving.

"Given the existing circumstances, we can be effective. It is not that we want harsher punishments or stiffer fines," DCP (Traffic), Mumbai, Harish Baijal, says.

But with 164 people losing their lives in road accidents every day, the menace refuses to die down.

So is putting people behind bars for a longer time the solution? While some say that imprisonment is not the solution, others suggest the heavy fines should be enough to deter offenders.

The civil society is campaigning hard. The Supreme Court acknowledges the lack of political will and the Law Commission is contemplating changes to ensure road safety. But will all offenders get a harsh judgment like Sanjeev Nanda?