Resume drunk driving checks soon, social activists tell police

Coimbatore: Social activists are mounting pressure on police to resume drunk driving checks, which came to an abrupt stop following the Covid-19 outbreak.
Police had registered 3,491 drunk driving cases from January to March 15, before the checking was stopped as police were wary of going very close to motorists. Activists are now suggesting police to take motorists, who they suspect to be under the influence of alcohol, to government hospital for blood test.
The city police have more than 50 breath analysers to detect if a motorist is drunk or not and the alcohol level. To control the spread of Covid-19 among the police personnel, they were on March 16 instructed to stop the usage of breath analysers.
R Mutharasu, city deputy commissioner of police (traffic), says, “It is too risky to ask motorists to blow the device. If any motorist is infected with Covid-19, the cop who is handling the device and other cops in the team would be at the risk of contracting the virus. So, we have stopped drunk driving checks.”
In 2019, the city police had registered 16,451 drunk driving cases. This year’s case details, he said, have been sent to respective courts as we don’t collect fine from drunk motorists. Courts normally imposes a fine of Rs10,000 for drunk driving.
A police source said vehicle movement has increased in the city as the government has relaxed the lockdown. Pointing out that people have started driving under the influence of alcohol, activists said, that might lead to more fatal accidents in the city. “Police should take suspected cases to the government hospital and test them to know whether they are under the influence of alcohol.”
Sumit Sharan, city police commissioner, said they would start using breath analysers to catch drunk motorists once the Covid-19 spread is controlled.
Ara Arularasu, district superintendent of police, said the rural police have been booking at least four drunk driving cases a day. “Cops are taking motorists, who they think are in an inebriated condition, to nearby government hospitals for testing. If results show that the alcohol level is higher than permissible levels, we book them and forward the details to courts for further action.”