Mumbai: Drunk driving cases down by a small peg this Holi

Traffic cops say city saw a drop of over 25 per cent in drunk driving cases over Sunday and Monday

Traffic cops booked 317 riders for drunk driving on Monday, while 51 were booked on Sunday. Pic/Shadab Khan

Thanks to an awareness campaign and aggressive monitoring of those driving under the influence of alcohol, the city's traffic police saw a marginal drop in drunk driving cases on Holi this year. Traffic cops booked 317 riders for the offence on Monday, while 51 were booked on Sunday. Last year, traffic police had booked 474 offenders for drunk driving. Meanwhile, 4,641 were booked for violating various traffic rules.

What caused the drop
"The drop is more than 25 per cent [compared to 2016]. We were continuously creating awareness thorough various media, especially social media like Twitter," said a traffic cop, adding, "Another reason for the reduction is the use of advanced breath analyzers, which has sent message to riders that if they have consumed more liquor than the permissible limit, they will definitely get caught." Another offence that has seen a huge drop is driving without a helmet.

During Holi last year, cops booked 5,691 people for riding without a helmet, a number that has reduced to 1,980 this year. Rash driving incidents registered a slight fall from 56 in 2016 to 34 in 2017. But riding on a triple seat has continued to remain an issue as those instances have decreased by just two, from 438 in 2016 to 436 in 2017.

Cop speak
"We have been appealing citizens to avoid traffic violations, and the numbers show that they are responding. Enforcement during the year, writing to hotels and bars and availability of other commuting options has resulted in a safe Holi," said Milind Bharambe, Joint Commisioner (Traffic).

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