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Police campaign on drunken driving flops, 230 cases booked

Last Updated 01 January 2014, 20:49 IST

The City police cracked down on drunken driving during New Year celebrations and booked 230 people for the offence. The number of cases booked between the night of December 31, 2013, and the early mor­n­­ing of January 1, 2014, is far higher than that during the same period last year.

The high number of cases has brought into focus the failure of police’s campaign to sensitise the revellers. There appeared to be few takers for the police’s advisory that at least one member in a group of revellers should abstain from alcohol and drive the rest back home safely.

Police, however, acted tough. Most of those found driving drunk were aged between 25 and 30, a senior officer said. More violations were reported in the City centre compared with the outskirts, he added.

“The spirit was really high, especially among youngsters, and we needed to act sternly to ensure public safety,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic and Security) B Dayananda. Police did not just concentrate on the Central Business District which normally accounts for the bulk of such cases. Police personnel were deployed at strategic locations all over the City and violations were reported in various parts, Dayananda added. Most of those involved in drunken driving were car users, followed by two-wheeler riders.

Last year, police did not book even a single case of drunken driving during the New Year celebrations. The police officer attributed it to the “massive” awareness campaign taken up against the ill-effects of drunken driving and the closure of some important junctions and flyovers last year. While 25 deaths were reported in road accidents in the last
week of December in 2011, the number was just three during the same period in 2012.

“We had launched a social media campaign on December 20. Some miscreants were under the false impression that police would not book cases of drunken driving on the night of December 31 this year too. Hence, we acted tough and booked cases,” the officer added.

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(Published 01 January 2014, 20:49 IST)

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