Bangalore traffic police get new alcometers

No more will the night rider in Bangalore city be made to breathe into a analyser to test for alcohol consumption. Now the police have procured 200 new alcometers which make the task much easier. They just hold the device in their hands as they engage the motorist in conversation, and the device spits out a reading.

A traffic personnel on duty at an arterial road in Bangalore. File Photo: Murali Kumar K

The device analyses the presence of alcohol from ones breath and saliva, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Praveen Sood told The Hindu on Wednesday. Several motorists objected to the way in which the old alchometers were being kept in the mouth of one motorist after another without the device being cleaned. Sometimes the old device even fails to give out a reading.

The new alcometers have been purchased under the Bangalore Traffic Improvement Project (B-TRAC). The new device that costs Rs. 25,000, helps the police get a preliminary reading on alcohol presence in the body. If the reading is below 30, then the motorist will be let off. If it is more, then a case will be booked and the motorist will be sent to a nearby government hospital for further testing, Mr. Sood said.

The new alcometers have been in operation for the past three months. So far, the city traffic police have booked 17,000 cases using the new device.