Drink and Drive: 26,000 cases booked in 2022

Bengaluru: A record number of drunk and drive cases have been registered in the city in 2022. According to the statistics till the end of November, around 26,017 people were caught by the police for being drunk and drive. During this period more than Rs 26 crore fines were imposed.

Due to Covid 2020 and 2021 there was no intensive drive against motorists. The process of imposing fines was accelerated earlier this year due to the frequent accidents caused by drunken drivers. Thus a record number of cases have been registered. By the end of the year, this amount will increase even more.

Accidents are happening daily due to drunken driving and the number of deaths and injuries has increased. This has been proved by many study reports. Thus, a lot of awareness is being created by the police department. However, it is unfortunate that the number of people driving under the influence of alcohol continues to increase, said a senior police officer.

A fine of Rs 10,000 will be imposed if caught driving under the influence of alcohol. In addition, the Regional Transport (RTO) authorities are recommended to cancel the Driving License (DL) of the offending motorists. Accordingly DL will be cancelled for 3 months. The accused have to pay a fine amount in court. The vehicle is impounded when there is only one person in the vehicle. Accidentally, if someone else is in the same vehicle without consuming alcohol and is qualified to drive, they are being given the vehicle. Some are getting back their seized vehicle by paying the fine in the court. Most of them are deliberately delaying payment of fine, said an official.

Young people are more likely to be caught in drunk driving cases. We have also registered a case against the young women who drove under the influence of alcohol. On weekends, people come from outside of the city to participate in fun gatherings. After the party is over, they drive back after drinking alcohol. In this case, many people were caught during the inspection, the official informed.

On Friday night, the traffic police conducted a special operation related to drunken driving in important places including Central Division and registered 146 cases in a single night. Preventing drunk driving accidents and maintaining the safety of road users is a top priority. In this regard, the special drive will be continued till January 1 said Dr. MA Saleem, Special Commissioner of Traffic Department.

Drunk driving cases are highest this year. While 5,343 cases were registered in 2020, 4,144 cases were registered in 2021 and 26,017 cases were registered by the end of November this year (2022).