In a special Kochi Range Level Combing Operation carried out by the Kochi range police, 907 drivers were caught for drunken driving. The operation was carried out under the supervision of Inspector General P Vijayan.
The operation began on November 11 at 9 am and ended the next morning at 5 am. In a span of 20 hours, 907 drivers were caught for drunken driving in the state. The police have also registered 550 cases of rash driving.
According to a press release issued by the Kochi Range police, a case is registered against all the drivers who were caught drunk for violating rules laid down by the Motor Vehicles Department for road safety. All the cases will be registered under Section 185 of Motor Vehicle Act and IPC 279.
The operation was conducted in the districts that come under Kochi range -- Kochi city, Ernakulam, Alleppey, Kottayam and Idukki. In the press release, the police informed that the license of all the caught drivers will be cancelled with immediate effect.
This is not the first time that the state has seen such a massive operation against drunken driving. Last month on October 24, in a surprise operation called ‘Operation Little Star’ on drunken driving among school bus drivers, 92 drivers were found drunk by the police. This operation led by Kochi range Inspector General P Vijayan was also carried out in Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam and Alappuzha districts.
According to statistics put out by the National Crime Records Bureau in 2015, the share of drunk driving accidents was 0.41%. Though as per the National Crime Records Bureau Kerala’s share of drunk driving is less than the national average of 1.5%, a report in The Hindu says that, road accidents in the state has touched an all-time high in the past six years.
The report also said that the year 2015 alone saw 39,029 accidents; as many as 4,130 people lost their lives in 2015. 3,539 people lost their lives in road accidents in the State in the first 10 months in 2016, added the report.
Of the 33,088 road accidents recorded in the state from January to October, rash driving accounted for 32,055 accidents, drunk driving 182, and other reasons 851, reports The Hindu.