BANAGALORE: The recent outrage over increasing drunken driving cases in megacity Mumbai has had a cascading effect on other cities including Bangalore. The Bangalore Traffic Police (BTP) are literally on their toes and painting the town red with their campaign against drunken driving in the city. The silver lining for the Garden City is that Bangalore, as compared to other cities, has been witnessing a drastic downward trend in the number of drunken driving cases.Armed with breathalysers, especially on weekend nights, the BTP, posted on various roads of the city try to identity the negligent drivers who spree dangerously on the highways. Last year, in the first three months, road accident deaths stood at 205, however, this year it is just 182 for the corresponding period, providing a clear testimony to the drastic decrease in the drunken driving cases in the city. The Additional Commissioner of BTP, M A Saleem said, “Last year, we had registered 61,923 drunken driving cases, whereas this year, in the first three months, we registered 15,656 cases, as compared to Delhi which has already registered 18,000 cases. Although we can give Delhi the benefit of doubt as the city has more than 52 lakhs vehicles while Bangalore has comparatively a lower number, only 41 lakh vehicles in a day.” He added further, “For every second offence of drunken driving, the driving licence of the driver is seized and put up for cancellation.” Increasing trend of drunken driving cases in other metros:The Mumbai Police has suspended more than 38,000 driving licenses for drunken driving since 2007. At present, the traffic police has launched a massive drive against drunkenness by putting up barricades at various places across the city, especially during the late evenings. On March 30, eighteen-year-old Shivani Raut lost her life in a car crash due to her friends’ negligence who were driving under the influence of alcohol, while six others were hospitalised. As far as Delhi is concerned even the capital city is not free from the clutches of drunken drivers. A total of 777 people were caught and fined for drunken driving during a special traffic police drive on the occasion of Holi, this year. This included 597 two-wheelers, 123 cars and 57 other vehicles were ‘challanged’ during the drive.
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