Bengaluru sees 60% fall in drunken driving cases

Bengaluru has witnessed a fall of almost 60% in the number of drunken driving cases in the last one month. This has nothing to do with the weather or change in enforcement by the police.

While Bengaluru traffic police booked an average of 5,000 cases in the first three months of this year, the number came down to 3,434 in April and May saw only 1,829 cases related to drunken driving. 

The steep drop in the number of cases has even taken the Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) by surprise. R Hitendra, the city’s traffic head told Deccan Herald that even the police were clueless about the drastic reduction of cases. “Enforcement drives have not come down. Senior officers keep a vigil till midnight on most roads around pubs in the city on weekends. Surprisingly, there is a fall in cases, especially in the central business district,” he said. 

“Police usually book more than 1,000 cases on Saturdays. But this month, the number did not go beyond 500. It could be because some pubs have been arranging vehicles to drop their clients or pub-goers are choosing aggregating cabs rather than their own private vehicles to reach home. Meanwhile, police have also been directed to shift their check points and conduct regular checks even during weekdays,” he said. 

The least number of cases (less than 10) were registered in Sadashivanagar, Wilson Garden and Shivajinagar traffic police station limits in May. The highest number of cases (more than 80) were booked in Byatarayanapura, Mico Layout, Yelahanka and Yeshwantpur police station jurisdiction in the same month.

 Indiranagar, Banaswadi, Halasuru Gate, Adugodi and Electronics City police stations registered less than 30% of cases compared to the previous months, police records state. 

Meanwhile, spokespersons of two popular cab aggregators said there was high demand for cabs on weekends while a few commuters felt cabs are rarely available during peak hours and late at night on weekends. 

Another police officer said there were instances where sober members of the partygoers take the wheel with those under the influence occupying the backseat. He also felt the availability of cabs aggregators and the Metro was a good option for those who like to gulp a glass or two but want to avoid driving home.

Hithendra said the police had checked KSRTC and BMTC drivers last week but did not find any cases of drunken driving. However, Hitendra did not rule out the possibility of drivers driving under the influence of alcohol.