Mangalore, June 2: In a move that could put great fear in to those who drive vehicles under the influence of alcohol, the Mangalore City Police has decided to suspend the license of the offenders in drunken driving cases.
At present in drunken driving cases, there is no system of spot fine. Police notice is issued to the offender to appear before the court and the court is empowered to impose the fine. The penalty imposed for the first time offender is Rs 1,000 and second time offender is Rs 2,000. However, there have been no instances of police tracking down habitual offenders in ’drunken driving cases.
The city police have booked 124 drunk drivers in 2014, 321 cases in 2013, 361 cases in 2012 and 522 cases in 2011.
Speaking to the media persons, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Uday Nayak said that the city police will soon start the initiative of recommending to the RTO to suspend and seize the licences in drunken drive cases. “The city police so far had only 2 breathalysers to test the alcohol content. With our division receiving 6 more breathalysers last week, it will help us to identify and test more number of drunken drivers. The police will spring into action in some of the important junctions in the city to monitor and check the drivers, especially on weekends,” he added.
