Drink or drive, don't drop dead in the dawn of New Year

Adopting a tough stance, the City Police will watch the drink and stop your drive. But in celebratory mood, the men in khaki might just relax to smile and greet awhile.   
Party hard, but don’t kick up a rumpus on the road. This is the police line. But that’s just a line, and seldom do revellers mind as they race through the night in abandon. The morning after, the chilling truth emerges. Accidents soar, so do deaths.

To curb this annual trend, the traffic police want to come down hard on revellers, many of whom take the event as a licence to unrestrained indulgence. And so, expect the traffic and law and order policemen to be in full force in and around greater MG Road.

“The relaxation in the closing timings of hotels, restaurants and bars doesn’t mean that revellers can do whatever they like. They should conduct themselves in order. Their merriment and glee should not spoil others’ lives.” This warning by A Nagappa, ACP (Traffic Central), should send some message.

Watch out for these cops at all key junctions and crowded joints.
“We are taking extra care so that the New Year doesn’t turn nightmarish for others. We’ll be quick and not hesitate  to take action against those found exceeding the limits,” warned the official.

Learning “accident” lessons from the past, City hospitals, too, aren’t taking chances. Many have boosted their staff strength and asked doctors to be on 24-hour call. Others have requisitioned more ambulances.

The next 48 hours ought to be tough for the cops. Already on the back foot over rising crime in the City, the police wouldn’t want the New Year to begin with a bad bang. After all, the ongoing Crime Prevention Month will end on December 31 and any glitch would look extremely unpleasant. 

ACP Nagappa’s advice to fun-mongers couldn’t have been more timely: “The public should take precautionary measures. They should not risk others’ lives. Groups celebrating the arrival of New Year with drinks should see to it that at least one of them, who drives, abstains from drinking.”