134 motorists caught driving drunk on New Year's eve in Vizag

Visakhapatnam: The Vizag city traffic police booked cases against 134 motorists for driving under the influence of alcohol on the intervening night of 31 December 2021 and 1 January 2022 (New Year's eve).

ADCP (traffic) Ch. Adinarayana said that in 2021 they had registered 287 cases of drunk driving on New Year's eve and 236 cases in 2019. No cases of drunk driving were reported on 2020 New Year's eve.

Of the total 134 cases this year, 93 drunk driving cases were reported under zone-II of the Vizag police commissionerate and 41 cases were reported under zone-I. The highest number (25) of drunk driving cases were registered under the Steel Plant police station limits in the city followed by Gajuwaka (15), Kancharapalem (12), while 11 cases each were registered under Pendurthy and Malkapuram police stations limits. Ten cases were registered under Harbour police station limits and two-five cases each were reported in the other police stations in the city.

The police have booked 1,820 motorists for not wearing helmets and registered cases against nine motorists for dangerous driving. They seized 104 driving licenses for various traffic violations on New Year's eve.

The commissioner of police, Manish Kumar Sinha, had appealed to the people to celebrate New Year's eve in their houses and not mix driving and drinking. He had warned of strict action against those who were caught drunk driving. He added that compared to previous years, the number of drunk driving cases this year was low.

Except for one major fatal accident due to rash and negligent driving near Arilova in which three youngsters were killed and one injured, the strict enforcement by the city traffic police led to fewer incidents of road accidents on New Year's eve. The police said very few non-fatal accidents were reported during the intervening night of 31 December and 1 January.