Drunk driving challans dip in G’gram
Sanjay Yadav
Gurugram, January 3
The Gurugram traffic police have reported a marked decrease in drunk-driving challans in the last four months of 2019.
Crediting strict implementation of the amended Motor Vehicles Act-2019 for the same, the police said even during the New Year celebrations, there was an unprecedented decline in challans as a majority of the revellers opted for cabs.
As per the data available with the Gurugram traffic police from January 1 to December 31, 2019, a total of 4,047 drunk driving challans were issued as against 5,721 during the same period in 2018.
Commuters had to pay huge fines and in some cases, vehicles were also impounded.
In the beginning of 2019, 447 challans of drunk driving were issued by the police to offenders while the number reached 605 in March. The major dip was seen in October, when only 23 challans were issued for the same offence. In September too, it was only 37 challans and 36 reported on the eve of New Year.
In November and December, the numbers of challans were only 200 plus while in other months it over 400, with May being an exception during the first eight months.
A senior traffic police officer said it was due to fear of hefty fines after the implementation of the new Motor Vehicles Act-2019. As per the amended Motor Vehicles Act, the penalty for drunk driving is Rs 10,000 and suspension of driving licence for three months.
“People were scared of hefty challans and most importantly, suspension of driving licence. So, a majority of party-goers used app-based cabs such as Ola and Uber for commuting,” the officer added.
Takshay Chaudhary, a BPO employee, said he, along with his friends, commute on cabs while going for a party on weekend. “It is only Rs 50 extra in cab instead of own car. We happily return home and it’s also hassle-free,” he added.
Least cases in Oct
Month challans
January 447
February 405
March 604
April 402
May 274
June 465
July 434
August 495
September 37
October 23
November 230
December 231
TOTAL 4,047
