Over 3000 cases of drunk driving were registered in Hyderabad during New Year’s Eve celebrations. The cases were lodged during the special drive taken up by the police under the limits of Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Rachakonda police commissionerates. While over 1,200 cases were filed under the limits of the Hyderabad commissionerate, 1,241 cases were detected in Cyberabad limits and 517 cases in Rachakonda.
As part of the special drive, police had set up checkpoints and conducted breath analyser tests starting from 8 pm. According to Cyberabad Police, a total of 1,241 persons were booked for drunk driving. As many as 938 two-wheelers and 275 four-wheelers were involved. The figures show that 382 of those caught are aged between 18 and 25 years old, while 536 are in the 26-36 age group and 239 in the 35-45 age group.
According to police, 196 of those caught had a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) count of above 50. The permissible alcohol limit is up to and below 30 micrograms/100 ml of blood. Anything above that, as recorded by a breath analyser, is a violation.
Police said 485 persons had a BAC count between 51-99, 281 in the range of 100-149, and 128 in the range of 150-199. A total of 100 people were found to have a BAC count of 200-299 while 51 had a 300-500 BAC count.
Out of 15 police stations in Cyberabad, Miyapur recorded the highest number of cases at 263. Kukatpally police station registered 123 cases. In Rachakonda, the highest number of cases (107) were recorded under Uppal police station limits.
Drunk driving is an offence under section 185 of The Motor Vehicles Act. The punishment is a penalty of Rs 10,000 and/or six months imprisonment. The driving licence will be suspended for three months and above or permanently.