Drunken drivers evade cops

Visakhapatnam: City cops are facing difficulties from the drunken motorists during the night as some motorists are deliberately refusing to undergo breath analyser tests and they are also entering into heated arguments with the police personnel in some parts in the city citing that they will be booked for drunken driving. In a few instances, the drunken motorists even manage to drive without giving tests and the cops can’t do anything to nail them, as the motorists can’t be booked without proof. In a few cases, the party-goers have been exchanging their driving seat with their girl friends as women get away unchecked for drunken driving due to less number of women cops and the traffic police are reluctant to check the women motorists. Recently, a drunken motorist P. Chandu, along with his kith and kin, beaten up traffic head constable Appala Raju at Tagarapuvalasa, when he was reprimanded for drunken driving.

Vizag ranked top in drunken driving in Andhra Pradesh. In 2014, the city police had registered 9,500 drunken driving cases of which 208 offenders were awarded imprisonment ranging from two days to five days. The offenders were also made to pay of '89 lakh in the form of fines.

ADCP (Traffic) K. Mahe-ndra Patrudu said that some motorists are not cooperating with the cops on duty to check drunk driving for giving tests. Sometimes, the motorists, who notice the drive against the drunken driving from a distance are accelerating the vehicle and not stopping at the points to evade the cops.

Sources said that some employees of PSUs and defence establishments and software professionals in the city are adopting a novel method after a liquor party at star hotels in the city. The drunken man of a four-vehicle used to exchange the driving seat with his girl friend to evade cops. Taking advantage that women motorist has all the fun, some mot-orists have been escaping from drunken driving.

ACPs (Traffic) K. Prabhakar and M. Srinivas said that under Section 185 of the MV Act, persons can be booked for drunken driving if his blood alcohol content (BAC) is more than 30 mg per 100 ml blood. Once caught, the motorist has to be produced before a court and can be fined upto '2,000 or jailed up to six months.