Drunk driving: Cops to keep hawk’s eye on motorists

In addition, about 200 new alcometers would be provided to the traffic police personnel to ensure extensive checks on city roads. The Traffic Police are now mulling to organise a month-long drunken driving checking during the December, the last month of the year, which registers the maximum numbers of road accidents, injuries and fatalities.

According to the traffic police, majority of accidents that occur during night often involve people driving under the influence of alcohol. “Many times the drivers who are drunk pose serious threat to other drivers on the road. Accidents involving drunk drivers are often reported on the highways and to ensure that the commuters do not consume alcohol during driving we are going to intensify the checks in the coming days,” M. A. Saleem, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), told Deccan Chronicle.

Saleem noted that in the year 2014 traffic police recorded 47,770 cases of drunken driving whereas this year by mid-November itself 55,153 case have been registered. “The Health Department is providing 200 new alcometers, which will be distributed to the various police stations in city. This will help us to organise extensive drives in several parts of city. As of now the drunken driving checks are conducted in city centres and major roads, but in the next month we are planning to expand the checking through out the city,” Saleem added. “The numbers of accidents in city are not declining. About 80 per cent of the self accidents recorded during night are connecting with drunken driving,” a police officer informed.