Kolkata: Noticing that many are choosing to wait till morning to drive back home after a night of partying, Kolkata Police (KP) is now cracking down upon drunk drivers at dawn to curb accidents.
Recently, a pedestrian was run over by a speeding car in Thakurpukur and eight persons were injured. Later, it was found that the driver Siddhant Das alias Victo, a television director, was driving drunk and failed to control the car.
Top city police officials decided to start a crackdown on drunken driving in the early hours in the morning.
Sources said that all the traffic guards were directed to conduct the special naka checking to prosecute errant motorists, including the drunken drivers, in two phases. At present, the naka checking starts around 10 pm and continues till 1 or 1:30 am. After a couple of hours, the special naka checking again starts around 3 am and continues for a few hours.
Initially, the second phase of the naka checking was started in the South West Division after the Thakurpukur accident. While conducting an inspection drive, police found that a good number of drunken drivers are driving in the wee hours. After the information reached the Kolkata Police headquarters, all the traffic guards were directed to follow the same timing for drunk driving checks.
During the naka checking, drivers are tested for alcohol using a breathalyser. According to the law, up to 30 mg of alcohol in 100 ml blood is acceptable. If the alcohol content is more than 30 mg, it is considered as a violation of the traffic rules. Accordingly, drivers having alcohol content more than 30 mg in 100 ml of blood are being prosecuted under section 185 of the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act.
The car or bike gets confiscated. Apart from the prosecution, the driver is arrested. However, depending on some conditions, the drivers get bail.