Hyderabad Traffic Police register 53,234 drunk driving cases in 2024, collect Rs 10.69 Cr fine

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Traffic Police have registered 53,234 cases of drunk driving and collected a fine of Rs 10.69 crore from offenders from January 1 to November 26, 2024.

Speaking to the NewsMeter, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Traffic-1, Rahul Hegde BK said 45,394 cases were registered against the people riding two-wheelers under the influence of alcohol. As many as 5,364 cases were registered on people driving four-wheelers, and 2,407 cases on people driving three-wheelers. Sixty-nine cases were registered against those driving other vehicles.

People riding two-wheelers outnumbered car owners in drunk driving

DCP said that most of the people riding two-wheelers preferred to consume liquor at permit rooms, bars, and restaurants and travel back home. He was it was one of the significant reasons for the risk of accidents and fatalities.

But when it comes to four-wheeler drivers, a majority of them have adopted a practice of making use of public transport, cabs, auto rickshaws, or bike taxi services as safer alternatives to reach their destinations. This was one of the major reasons for the decline in the number of people caught driving under the influence of alcohol, he added.

According to Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act, driving while intoxicated carries a maximum fine of Rs 10,000 and a maximum jail sentence of six months, he said. Apart from the first-time offenders, the police also caught serial offenders under the influence of alcohol.

Breakdown of latest arrests and jail time given

Among them, 2,283 motorists were caught by the police for the second time, 101 were caught the third time and 19 were caught the fourth time during the enforcement checks during the year. Elaborating, Rahul Hegde said that as many as 3,750 motorists were sent to jail for committing the offence for the first time, with imprisonment ranging between one day to 60 days.

Providing a break-up, he said as many as 92 motorists were sent to jail for one day, 12,666 motorists for two days, 101 motorists for three days, 1,985 motorists for four days, 122 motorists for five days, 74 motorists for six days, 69 motorists for seven days, six motorists for eight days and two motorists for nine days.

Similarly, 14 motorists were convicted and jailed for 10 days, three motorists for 12 days, two motorists for 14 days, 10 motorists for 15 days, one motorist for 16 days, two motorists for 20 days, and one motorist for a month, he said.

He added that as many as 572 motorists were asked to perform community service.

According to the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety, a licence can be suspended for any of the six offences: signal jumping, overspeeding, overloading, using mobile phones while driving, and drunk driving. The driving licenses of 331 motorists were suspended this year, the DCP said.

Apart from that, as many as 3,885 drivers had Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) readings above 200 mg/100 ml, which is much higher than the legal limit of 30 mg/100 ml, Rahul Hegde added.