The Hindu : Drive against drunken driving

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 18, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram

Drive against drunken driving

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Dec. 17. The city police will initiate a crackdown on drunken driving to discourage speedsters during the Christmas-New Year season.

The City Police Commissioner, Rajan Singh, said breath-analyser equipped policemen will check all roads leading to Kovalam, Aakulam and Veli. Special patrolling would be conducted to prevent over-speeding on the main thoroughfares of the city and the national highway by-pass at night.

The drive against drunken driving is part of a comprehensive police bandobust scheme to prevent untoward incidents during the Christmas-New Year celebrations. Mr. Singh said the policemen have been asked to distinguish between innocent fun, revelry and hooliganism. He said additional police forces, mostly in plainclothes, would be deployed at Kovalam, which is the hub of New Year celebrations in the city. The police presence would be non-intrusive. However, policemen will maintain strict vigil against eve-teasing, drunken behaviour and other offences, he said.

A traffic official said that drunken driving was a major cause of accidents at night in the city. The most number of such accidents were being reported during the Christmas-New Year season.

An official said that the largest segment of offenders in this category are college students and affluent youth. Over-speeding and racing bets on the main road by intoxicated young motorists have become a part and parcel of nightlife in the city. Mercifully, most of these activities take place at odd hours so the larger public is spared, a traffic official pointed out. One-way violations, failure to dim headlights and driving at high speeds with car audio systems in full blast were some of the common traffic offences at night.

The Musuem-Vellayambalam-Kawadiar road and the Eenchakkal-Kovalam bypass are among the favourite stretches of speedsters. Studies show that even a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .07 per cent more than doubles the risk of being involved in an accident. This was because alcohol slows down the eye-movement of the driver and makes him notice less of what is happening around him. It also greatly reduces the peripheral vision of the driver and slows down his reaction time.

The police will also ensure that the streets are well patrolled at night during the Christmas and New Year eve when hundreds of families attend midnight mass at churches in the city.

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