One for the road rules

In the first verdict of its kind, 17-year-old Deepak Gupta has been asked to do community service on a drunken driving charge. He'll now direct traffic for 10 days A joyride with friends after downing a few drinks is nothing new for the capital's youngsters . But as 17-year-old Deepak Gupta discovered recently, this ride can end a little too soon. This youngster took out his dad's car for a spin after drinking a few beers with his friends.The result was an accident, where thankfully he rammed only into a flyover. The cops did their job and he was detained for driving under the influence of liquor and minus a licence. Rather than sending him to jail or levying a hefty fine, Deepak was told to do 10 days of community service by the court. His exact punishment : Manage traffic at the busy Kalkaji intersection for 10 days. This is the first time such a sentence of community service has been given.
And Deepak is relieved by this innovation. "My first thought was 'thank God they didn't put me behind bars' . This is a much better sentence. I don't mind standing in the heat and directing the traffic. It is much better than going to jail. I have learnt my lessons - I will be very careful now."
In fact, Deepak is all for community service as a reformatory process. "Many people drive after they drink and get away by paying the cops. The only difference is that I accepted my mistake in court. I feel that others should be given the same punishment too. Why put someone behind bars and ruin his/her life?"
But as an offender himself, how would he tell somebody to drive right? "I am a little nervous and don't know what I will say to traffic offenders. I guess I will tell them not to do it. But I am happy about one thing - when I am around the traffic cops won't be able to take money from traffic violators."