Return of Alcometer: A boon or bane?

2022-04-16

By Hameed Ashraf

The lifting of Covid curbs has revived the city’s nightlife, and pubs and bars are seeing a steady increase in footfalls. On the flip side the city is also witnessing a rise in cases of accidents caused due to driving under the influence of alcohol. The police have now revived special drives to curb the menace, but the use of alcometers have sparked a debate. The police claim they are taking precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus. But health experts point out that with the Covid-19 fourth wave in the offing, it is an ill-advised move, reports Hameed Ashraf.

After the relaxation of Covid restrictions, the city’s nightlife has also come back to pre-coronavirus days. Pubs and bars in the city have reopened and a lot of people are visiting these watering holes late at night.

The Bengaluru Traffic Police have begun carrying out special drives during weekends to curb drunk driving at various places in the city.

During pandemic times the traffic cops had to let go of the alcometer, a device used to measure the alcohol content, as random checks could also lead to the transmission of virus. The suspension of these checks had also affected revenues during the pandemic.

However, a senior officer, who did not want to be named, told News Trail that a new set of devices has been handed over to the BTP officials to continue with their special drive.

New device or old, for a test, the driver has to blow into a mouthpiece, which is attached to a testing device. There is no doubt that the drive to keep the traffic violations under control is necessary. But commuters, health experts and activists are divided about these tests, especially when there is a likelihood of another Covid wave in the offing.

According to BTP statistics, 284 cases of drunk and drive have been booked in Jan-Feb this year. Last week the Bengaluru traffic officials registered more than 200 cases a day in three divisions East, West and North combined. In the west division alone, 82 cases were booked on Friday, 78 on Saturday and 75 cases were booked on Sunday, police said.

“It would be unfair on our part to not penalize those who are driving around the city under the influence of alcohol. We have been getting reports about people coming out of bars and riding vehicles without any fear of being caught by cops. It is high time we bring back order on the roads,” a senior police officer said.

In the Eastern Division, where localities such as Indiranagar, MG Road and Koramangala, house some of the most famous waterholes, the BTP on average booked around 80 cases each on the three days of the special drive, according to K.M. Shantharaju, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) East Division.

“We stopped drunk and drive checks previously due to enforcement of Covid-19 guidelines and also keeping in mind the safety of the traffic personnel. However, with the increase in accidents and drunken driving cases, it was decided to launch the drives with a set of safety guidelines,” said B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic).

He also said that the opinion of experts has been sought before resuming these tests. Over 600 alcometers will be used to check for drunk driving in Bengaluru and they have been distributed to 60 stations in the city, he added.

As per the police, each person stopped by the police will be provided with a disposable straw for the alcometer and once the person has used it, the device will be sanitized and put away in a plastic bag for the next three days before it is used again. In case the person refuses to use the alcometer even with the disposable straw, the police will take the person to the nearest government hospital for a blood test to detect whether the person was under the influence of alcohol.

According to a traffic official, the penalty for drinking and driving was Rs 2,000 but it was hiked to Rs 10,000. Restarting the drive will increase revenue manifold for the government. He added that the BTP collected nearly Rs 20 lakh a day in fines during the special drives in the city.

Kuldee p Kumar Jain, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic, West) said, “We have definitely increased our enforcement and are taking strict action against these violators.”

Senior officers asked citizens to intimate them if they face any problems during these random checks. In particular, they asked vehicle users not to pay fines without receipts. “If they are being harassed (to pay the fine without receipts), they can contact me directly,” said K.M. Shantharaju, DCP (Traffic, East).