Even after the year-long enforcement against drunken driving along with the threat of a day’s imprisonment, there has been no dip in the number of cases registered. On an average, the traffic police catch about 800 motorists for driving intoxicated each month.
Ideally, there should have been a dip in the number of cases in the last year as this would imply that people are avoiding drunken driving, but the number of cases has not gone down significantly, a police official wryly observes. However, there has been a shift in the areas where people are being caught.
“While a majority of cases were booked in areas such as Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills earlier, the contribution from the rest of the areas has gone up in the last few months significantly,” the official said.
The year-long enforcement has also brought up a few interesting findings. Two-wheeler drivers lead the roost in mixing up their drinks and rides as more than 6,900 were apprehended. They are followed by the 2,839 four-wheeler drivers and 460 auto rickshaw drivers. The police have booked more than 10,000 people during the drive.
Bulk of offenders caught during the drive fall between the age of 20 and 40 years and most of them were caught with blood alcohol levels (BAC) between 30 mg and 100 mg alcohol per 100 ml blood. According to Motor Vehicle Act, a driver found with BAC of more than 30 mg per 100 ml blood can be booked for drunken driving.
Statistics also show that a major portion of those caught during the drive were either businessmen or ‘blue collar’ workers. Private sector employees, software professionals, students and government employees were other major groups involved.
Anyway, even though the number of people caught for drunken driving has not come down, there has been a significant reduction in the accidents that take place. About 2,651 accidents were recorded in the year 2011, of which 441 were fatal. Till October 2012, only about 2,167 accidents have been recorded, in which 401 lost their lives.
“There has been a reduction in the number of accidents particularly between 8 p.m. and midnight during the weekends after we started the enforcement,” the official observed, a tad bit happy.
