True price of drink driving: Unnecessary deaths and heartbreak, say docs who have tried to save victims

After his patient lost his battle to survive horrific injuries on the operating table, trauma surgeon Raj Menon felt a sense of sadness wash over him.

- Claudia Tan

The man, who was in his 40s, was rushed to the National University Hospital late at night with significant injuries to his limbs and abdomen in 2020.

The motorcyclist was riding home when he was struck by a car. The driver was intoxicated.

Adjunct Assistant Professor Menon and his team tried their best to save him, but the man was bleeding profusely.

"I remember speaking to the motorcyclist's family and seeing the shock they experienced when they heard the news. At that point, it hit me that drink-driving fatalities are such unnecessary deaths. All that is required to prevent (them) is just a little bit of compassion for other road users, because the impact on victims can be very traumatic."

The festive periods can be especially busy for trauma units, with more drink-driving cases.

At the launch of the Traffic Police's annual Anti-Drink Drive Campaign on Nov 21, Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Sim Ann noted that there were more accidents resulting in injuries, and also more arrests for drink driving, in 2025.

In the first eight months of 2025, 1,173 people were arrested for drink driving, up from 1,130 during the same period in 2024. And from January to June 2025, there were 3,740 traffic accidents which caused injuries, up from 3,437 during the same period in 2024.

Prof Menon, who heads the trauma centre at NUH, said the hospital has seen an increase in road accident victims from 2020 to 2024.

There were 211 patients from major vehicular accidents in 2020, and 320 such patients in 2024.