Prick for peg: Drunk-driving suspects to face blood tests

Traffic cops during the drive to nab drunk motorists

Alarmed by a sharp plunge in drunk-driving cases after they stopped using breathalysers over Covid fears, traffic cops have decided to send motorists suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol for blood tests. With just a few days to go for Christmas and the New Year, the department will launch a special drive to take action against drunk-drivers, said officials.

The drive will continue till January 1, 2022. This time around last year, drunk driving cases had dropped by 90 per cent compared to the previous year. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the traffic department stopped using breathalysers resulting in minimal action against intoxicated motorists. This led to drunk- driving cases falling to a mere 35 on new year's eve in 2020 against 778 in 2019 - about 95 per cent.

A cop uses a breathalyser on a biker on December 31, 2019. File pic

Officials said a lot of international flights have been stopped due to the Omicron variant which means scores of Mumbaikars will be forced to party in the city. "We are gearing up for this year's drive as there is no chance to go abroad or favourite destinations for celebrating the New Year. Many will stay in the city which will definitely add to our work," said a senior traffic official.

The department, however, will still seek permission to use the breathalyser. "We are planning to write to relevant authorities regarding guidelines for its [breathalyser] use in the backdrop of the Covid pandemic. If we get the approval we will definitely use it this year. In case the permission is not given like last year, suspected inebriated motorists will be taken to hospital and blood tests will be done to confirm the offence," said Rajvardhan, joint commissioner (traffic).

Drunk-driving cases on New Year's Eve
2018 445
2019 778
2020 35