755 Hyderabad residents given 90 days jail sentence for drunk driving

2,972 people were booked in February, and driving licenses of 25 people were permanently cancelled.

news Drunk Driving

Registered cases of drunk driving have increased in Hyderabad as the traffic police in the city have increased vigil and the teams deployed for routine checks. In the month of February alone, the Hyderabad traffic police registered a total of 2,972 cases, out of which 755 persons were awarded jail sentences of 90 days. All violators in the 2,972 cases were produced in the third and fourth metropolitan magistrate courts in Nampally.

This comes after a staggering 1,594 cases were registered on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s day under the three commissionerates in the city. Speaking to TNM, KPV Raju, Inspector, Traffic Admin, said, “Until last year, we used to conduct checks only on Friday and Saturday nights, but in light of the cases registered recently after the New Year, we have upped the ante and our teams, both static and mobile, do routine checks even on weekdays. Many offenders caught drinking and driving last month are second and third-time offenders,” the officer said.

Of the 2,972 cases registered, 755 have been given jail sentences. The driving licenses of 25 people have been cancelled permanently and licenses of 154 have been cancelled temporarily, for a period ranging from three to six months.

The city saw a spike in cases despite the massive awareness campaign undertaken by the traffic police in the last few months.

“The punishment is awarded on the basis of the alcohol level in the blood. If the blood alcohol content is found to be higher than 30 mg/dl, we are authorised to register cases against the driver. But we usually let people go up to 35 mg/dl, and file cases only above the count. This time, we have registered cases against everyone caught, and the licenses of 25 people have been permanently cancelled as they were caught for the offence the second or third time,” Raju said.

According to the police, the increase in cases is mainly due to the easy availability of liquor and an increase in people’s capacity to purchase.

“Though we have caught people belonging to all age groups, the core group consists of youngsters aged from 20 up to 35. A maximum number of cases have been reported from Mehdipatnam, while areas like Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills and Begumpet also see a large number of cases,” the officer added.

The 755 people awarded a jail sentence have been sent to Chanchalguda jail. Three violators were charged with imprisonment for dangerous driving and violation of traffic rules. The rest were fined for an amount of Rs 2,500, and cases were filed under section 185 of Motor Vehicle Act (Driving by a drunken person or by a person under the influence of drugs).