New target for cops to curb

A total of 3070 cases of drunken driving cases have been registered until March 22 and 462 people have been imprisoned

• Drunken driving checks on weekends(Friday, Saturday and Sunday)
• Heavy vehicles and private travels are targets
• 6 teams to check 10 areas including SR Nagar, Maitrivanam, Ameerpet, Panjagutta, Lakdikapul, Abids, Nampally, Afzalgunj, Mehdipatnam and Bahdurpura.
• Entire procedure being video recorded
• To create awareness about wearing helmets and using seat belts

It is not a mystery that most of the accidents in the city are taking place due to drunken driving and this number has always been on the rise. Until March 31 this year, the city witnessed 419 road accidents, while in 337 instances, the victims escaped with minor injuries and 47 people lost their lives. According to the Hyderabad Traffic Police website, a total of 3070 cases of drunken driving cases have been registered until March 22 and 462 people have been imprisoned.

Jitendra, Additional Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Hyderabad, has stepped up measures to check most of the frequent hubs of the city. Six teams of police personnel have been deployed in areas with higher reports of accidents which include SR Nagar, Maitrivanam, Ameerpet, Panjagutta, Lakdikapul, Abids, Nampally, Afzalgunj, Mehdipatnam and Bahdurpura.

Druken driving checks are being taken up on weekdays too. A special emphasis to check drunk drivers of heavy vehicles and private vehicles ferrying passengers, has been adopted. The cops say though not every driver consumes alcohol, still, in the case of private travels, lives of 40 people are dependent on one individual. Hence surprise checks are being conducted to check drivers. Started a month ago, so far five private vehicle carriers and 25 heavy vehicles have been booked in the drive. The entire procedure is also being video recorded. In case a driver is being caught for consuming alcohol, he is taken to the nearest police station and the carrier is then forced to arrange for another driver. Jitender says that he is startled by the nature of serious violations on the roads and vows to change the mindset of commuters for safe and secure driving.

“Now our top priority is to increase awareness among the public regarding the use of helmets and seat- belts also. We will initiate tough measures in a phased manner to ensure the effective implementation of this rule,” says a determined Jitender.

In an earlier interview to the Hyderabad Hans, Jitender said he would raise awareness about road safety among children and RTC drivers to curb accidents.

“So far the Hyderabad Traffic Police created awareness among 80,000 students from nearly 4,000 schools besides educating about 2,000 RTC drivers. The awareness drives would be intensified from time to time to achieve our mission to reduce the number of accidents,” he said.