Bhubaneswar: In its overnight drive against unsafe driving across the state for second time this month, the Transport Department and State Police checked safety standards of the vehicles and alcohol intake by the drivers on Saturday night.
During the joint drive, around 2,600 drivers were subjected to breath analyzer test and 251 were found driving under the influence of alcohol. The police arrested 216 of them for the offence of drunken driving.
As many as 59 drivers were tested positive for alcohol intake while driving in Cuttack district. All of them were arrested and 33 driving licences were suspended. In Subarnapur district, of 20 drivers found found committing the offence, 17 were arrested.
While checking the safety norms during the drive that continued from 8 pm of Saturday to 8 am of Sunday, the joint squad detained 232 vehicles for not following prescribed standards and suspended 138 driving licenses (DLs).
In a similar drive on April 8, the enforcement squad of State Transport Authority checked 1,858 vehicles like hyva, tipper, dumpers and others, carrying sand, fly ash, chips and other materials. Out of those vehicles, 218 were penalised for not complying with the safety standards and 98 vehicles were seized for the MV offences.
Despite a set of strict laws and regulations, drunk driving continues to be one of the major reasons behind road accidents in India. As many as 648 road accidents took place in Odisha in 2020 due to drunken driving. A total of 298 people lost their lives in these incidents.
After going easy on drunken driving during COVID pandemic time in view of the health hazards associated with breath analyser test, the enforcement squads have been asked to conduct such drives at regular intervals, according to a release of State Transport Authority.
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