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Journalism of Courage
The Cyberabad police in Hyderabad have flagged a major increase in blood alcohol content (BAC) among motorists, especially among young people in the IT corridor.
While cases of driving under the influence of alcohol are common in the commissionerates of Cyberabad and Hyderabad, the rising BAC levels being detected are alarming and can be lethal, officials said.
In breathalyser tests conducted on November 28-29, the intervening night between last Friday and Saturday, police found that 195 motorists had BAC between 101 and 500. This, officials said, represented a very dangerous trend, as driving with a BAC of over 30 is not recommended.
On the night, 11 motorists had BAC ranging between 301 and 500, 42 had BAC between 201 and 300, 49 fell in the 151-200 range, 93 were in the 101-150 range, 168 had a range between 51 and 100, and 68 had BAC of slightly less than 50.
Police also pointed out that 21-30 was the age group that had the highest number of DUI cases that night — 181 out of the total 431.
“Young people are consuming large quantities of alcohol and getting behind the wheel. They should not be on the roads, much less driving cars or SUVs or bikes. While they may be confident that they can drive safely while intoxicated, and many times they may actually make it home safe, there is a high probability of getting involved in an accident,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP Traffic, Madhapur Zone) T Sai Manohar.
Officials from 16 traffic police stations conducted the breathalyser tests and booked 431 cases that night. Of these, 86 were driving four-wheelers, 325 were riding two-wheelers and 16 were autorickshaw drivers. Four of those detained for DUI were driving trucks. The Cyberabad police are now conducting breathalyser tests every weekend and making the data public. It has also randomly started testing school bus drivers in the morning after a few were found to be driving with a hangover.
“While driving with over 30 BAC is not advisable, some of these drivers were dangerously drunk when we checked their BAC levels that night. They were not in a position to operate a vehicle, but they were driving big cars or SUVs and could crash and cause a lot of damage, including fatal mishaps. We used to find high BAC previously, but not this high. Driving with BAC between 201 and 500, and above, is not only extremely dangerous, but reckless,” a traffic police officer said.
Some of the motorists were found driving on highways while extremely inebriated, police said. “They were barely conscious, incoherent, and unable to comply with police instructions,” one officer said.
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