BENGALURU: The number of cases booked against drunken drivers/riders this year is expected to exceed the cases registered last year as Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) are on an overdrive across the city.
According to statistics provided by BTP, last year 55,138 cases were booked against drunk drivers. This year, with a little more than two weeks remaining, 53,115 cases have already been booked. For the month of October in the last two years, this October has seen the highest number of cases booked for drunken driving at 8,485.
With BTP taking strict action against repeat offenders, drunk drivers are looking at jail time.
For the first time, cases were booked against two drunk drivers where a city magistrate court sent the accused to jail for two days. This follows a request by Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M A Saleem to severely punish repeat offenders.
Saleem said, “Driving licence of first-time offenders caught for driving under the influence of alcohol will be sent to RTO for suspension. Second-time offenders will be dealt with more seriously. We are requesting courts to send such repeat offenders to judicial custody.”
A senior police official said, “Unfortunately, most of those who are booked for driving under the influence of alcohol are well-educated and most of them are with corporate firms. On weekends, we book nearly 800-1,200 cases. When the educated class does not showcase their social responsibility, it sends a bad message to their family as well as society.”
“This is a strong warning to those who drink and drive. We are taking strict action to create awareness among the public to not drink and drive as it is dangerous for public and pedestrians,” said the officer. In an attempt to curb errant drivers, police have sent 16,256 driving licences to Regional Transport Offices (RTO) recommending suspension. Of these, most were those of drunk drivers. However, the RTO authorities have suspended only 1,421 DLs so far.