LTO implements anti-drunk driving law

PILAR, Bataan- “If you are drunk, do not drive, otherwise you will land in jail”. This was the warning yesterday of a top official of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) who said that the implementation of the Anti-drunk driving law has been in effect since March 12.

Ronald Dabu, LTO chief here, said that R.A. 10586 provides stricter penalties to drivers who are caught driving under the influence of liquor. The penalty he said is more severe if the drunk driver gets involved in an accident that may result to casualty and destruction of properties.

Dabu said however that if a driver was only able to drink a little liquor and the volume of his alcohol intake is lower than .05 percent, he is not liable.

He said that they are still waiting for a breath analyzer but they can identify whether a driver is drunk or not by simply making the driver walk straight. “This is what we call the Sobriety test. Palalakarin namin sya ng nine times sa straight line at pabalik, titingnan namin ang mata nya or patatayuin sa isang paa niya ng 30 seconds at malalamanan na kung nakainum siya o hindi,” said Dabu.

He said that they, together with Narciso Maniacup, LTO regional chief of operations, had already met with various transport leaders about the new law, saying this will be for the safety of the public and the motorists themselves. “Hopefully, maging deterrent ito sa aksidente dahil almost every two hours ay may aksidenteng nangyayari sa atin. So ang aming advocacy is: safety first,” added Dabu.