Mumbai: Mumbaikars seem to have sobered up this new year's eve as only 35 motorists were caught driving under the influence of alcohol, even as 4,056 motorists were caught for different traffic violations. This is the first time that the cases of drunk driving are in double digits; the incidence was as high as 778 last year. Moreover, 24 days after call centers were started by traffic police, a recovery of over ₹1.12 crore was made.
This low incidence of drunk driving can be attributed to the night curfew imposed in the backdrop of the pandemic and the decision to not use the breathalyzers this year.
"Mumbaikars abided by the rules and kept the new year celebrations a low key affair, adhering to the norms set by the state government and the police. This year only 35 cases of drink-and-drive were registered, which too we were not expecting. Of these 35 violators, all men, 26 violators were bikers, one auto rickshaw driver and eight drivers of four-wheeler," said Yashasvi Yadav, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic). While the police impounded 15 vehicles, 20 vehicles were released.
According to the data procured, the police registered a total of 4,056 traffic violations: most violations -- 812 vehicles -- were recorded because the driver was not wearing a helmet; 390 motorists failed to produce a valid license; 253 were found driving without valid license; and 304 were found to have parked their vehicles illegally. The police also caught over 126 motorists driving without a seat belt. Data revealed that the most number of traffic violations were in the western region, followed by eastern, central and south.
In a bid to ramp up the recovery of pending e-challans to the tune of ₹317 crore, the police recovered over ₹1.12 crore after they started a call centre to remind violators of their pending e-challan. "Recovery of pending traffic challans through telephonic calls to violators by Mumbai Traffic Police elicited a positive response and we expect to make a good recovery from this initiative," added Yadav. In a mere 24 days, a team of policemen contacted over 4,600 violators with pending e-challan and recovered ₹1,12,22,250 from over 2,593 violators.
