156 in Mum caught driving drunk as against 18 in ’21

Mumbai/Thane/Navi Mumbai: Drive against drunk driving on New Year’s Eve (NYE) went peacefully, and no untoward incident was reported, said deputy commissioner of police (Traffic) Raj Tilak Roushan. “This year, almost after two years, the breathalysers were used to track people driving drunk across 100 nakabandi points that were chalked out. A total of 2,150 traffic personnel were out on duty at nakabandi points at strategic locations where new year parties were planned, and around bars and pubs in South Mumbai and suburbs.Traffic wardens also assisted during the drive,” said Roushan.
As total of 156 drivers were caught driving drunk on the intervening night of December 31, 2022, and January 1, 2023. In Mumbai, breathalysers were not used due to pandemic in 2020 and 2021, which saw 35 and 18 cases of drunk driving, respectively. The offenders have been served a challan under section 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act for driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol.
Navi Mumbai DCP (Traffic) Tirupati Kakade said compared to 2021, when 44 motorists and bikers were caught drunk driving on NYE, the cases increased four times this year. Only 27 drunk driving cases were reported in 2020 on December 31, while in 2019, prior to Covid lockdown, a total of 385 offenders were caught for drunk driving. In Thane, 171 people were booked Saturday night compared to 297 on December 31, 2021. Thane traffic police registered cases of drunk driving against 659 offenders— motorists as well as their co-passengers — during their three-day intensified special traffic safety drives held between December 30 and January 1. Data shows a near 35% increase in numbers compared to 2021. tnn