Vizag tops AP cities in drunken driving cases

Visakhapatnam :Vizag has won the dubious distinction of recording the maximum number of drunken driving cases in Andhra Pradesh. However, in spite of the special drive, the number of fatal cases has slightly gone up in the city in 2015 when compared to 2014. As per the statistics, city traffic police have registered a total of 17,755 drunken driving cases in 2015 and the offenders were also made to pay Rs 1.26 crore in the form of fine. However, not a single motorist was awarded imprisonment. In 2014, the cops have registered 10,115 drunken driving cases, collected a fine of Rs 98 lakh and a total 208 motorists were awarded imprisonment from 2-5 days.

 

In Vijayawada city, a total of 3,678 motorists were booked for drunken driving while 4,106 motorists under Machili-patnam (Krishna district rural) limits were booked for drunken driving in 2015. 

Apart from the 17,755 drunken driving cases in Vizag city limits,  a total of 5,587 motorists were booked for spirited driving in Vizag Rural limits in 2015. City police chief Amit Garg said their teams have infused fear among drunken drivers with surprise checks at various places in the city.

 

However, in spite of the drives, the number of drunken driving cases has gone up by 75 per cent in 2015.  Before producing the drunken motorists in the courts, our teams have been counselling the offenders and expecting the number will come down in the coming months. 

Sources in police department said there is still no mechanism available with the city traffic police to identify the repeated drunken drivers. While cops of all the major cities in the country are equipped with latest gadgets to suspend the driving license of repeated offenders, the drunken motorists are running without fear on the city roads.

 

Despite the efforts taken by city traffic police to minimise the road accidents and fatalities in 2015, road crashes have registered mariginal increase this year compared to last year. 

City roads have claimed  as many as 355 lives and 1,342 others were injured in 2015 while the number of deaths was 345 and injured were 1,325 in 2014.  Cops attributed the increasing deaths to potholes, growing number of vehicles without rise in facilities.