Alcohol-fuelled New Year revelry killed two persons in Mumbai and Bangalore even as a strict police vigil kept a check on the number of drink driving cases across most major cities. A motorcyclist attempting a wheelie on Town Hall Road in Bangalore rammed his bike into another vehicle and died while a drunk truck driver ran over and killed a pedestrian in central suburban Mumbai.
But in other major cities across the country, there was some sobering news. The traffic police mostly reported a fall in drink driving cases and challans. In Delhi, there was not a single fatal accident for the first time in the last three years. There were seven fatal accidents in Delhi in 2010 while there were five each in 2011 and 2012. The news from Hyderabad was the same. There was no fatal road accident this New Year.
The various city police attributed the decrease to the sustained drive to curb drink driving. In Kolkata, the police even deployed an unmanned aerial vehicle to manage revellers.
In the national capital, the number of drink driving cases increased from 489 in 2012 to 532 in 2013. The figures were 418 in 2011 and 346 in 2010.
In Bollywood city, the number of traffic challans saw a sharp fall. The Mumbai traffic police booked 568 offenders this year, down from 840 last year. Post the Alistair Perriera accident in November 2006, in which the accused mowed down seven construction workers in Bandra in a drunken state, the Mumbai traffic police started a drive against such drivers.
In Hyderabad, 187 motorists tested positive when they were subjected to breathalyser tests.
(With inputs from Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkata)
