Drunk Driving: Surge in drunk driving cases by more than 50%!

The traffic cops begin a special drive against drunken driving from December 16 every year. This year, the number of challans issued during this period almost doubled to 2,129 from 1,103 in 2022.

In Delhi, around 360 people were fined for driving under the influence of alcohol on New Year’s Eve, up from 308 last year. 

Mumbai city alone saw a surge in cases of drunk driving on New Year’s Eve, with 778 people being fined, compared to 433 the previous year. Of the 778 penalized, 578 were bikers, while 200 were motorists. More than 3,000 traffic policemen were on patrolling duty and 5,338 motorists and bikers were subjected to breath analyser tests from 10 pm on Tuesday till 6 am on Wednesday.

Officers said the number of cases in the western, eastern, and northern suburbs were more because of the high number of pubs and bars there. In the last week of December, the joint commissioner of traffic police had issued a notification to traffic police personnel to keep cases of drunk driving and speeding in check

“We have sent the list of offenders to the RTOs to begin the process of suspending their licenses for six months,” said an officer.

Besides prosecuting violators, police also organized road safety awareness camps in schools, colleges, and at major road intersections to teach about proper road use. Short films, lectures, and educational literature about safe driving were also distributed during these camps. Traffic Police also used inserts in newspapers to make motorists aware of this and through social media, mobile exhibition vehicles, and street plays.