Caught Driving Drunk? Get Help To Drive You Back Home | Kolkata News – Times of India
A drunk motorist might no longer be detained at a police station or the vehicle might not be seized but he or she would, under no circumstances, be allowed to take the driver’s seat after his tests and legal formalities were over, said a senior officer on Thursday.
Lalbazar officers said this was now part of the drink-drive SOP and was incorporated at all police stations and traffic guards. So far, police detained drunk motorists and seized the vehicles, which could be taken back after the owner went to court the next day.
“The idea behind the rule is to ensure people act lawfully, harassment is not the intention,” said special commissioner H K Kusumakar, who pointed out crackdowns on drink-driving or any other campaign was meant as a strong deterrence and not as a punitive measure. He was speaking at a conference on the “role of industry for safe road and safe mobility”, organized by Indian Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.
“Drink-driving is a major issue. There are accidents, like the ones in Lake Town or at the Beliaghata crossing, where the accused escape unhurt and the one abiding by rules get killed. We need to stop it,” said Kusumakar, adding checks were now being held every night at various spots.
All police stations and traffic guards have been directed to follow the SOP issued in December last year. The SOP says naka-checks can be held only in areas covered by CCTV cameras, cops will have to keep their body cameras on during the checks and PCR vans will have to log the cases with Lalbazar control room.
