Hyderabad cops nab 35 more drunk drivers ferrying students; over 3,000 tested in citywide checks, schools may face action
HYDERABAD: In a span two weeks, Hyderabad traffic police have nabbed 35 drivers for ferrying school children in an inebriated state. Cops found that the blood alcohol content (BAC) in some drivers was alarmingly high — between 200 mg/ml and 400 mg/ml
The permissible BAC level is 30 mg/ml.
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That this comes less than a month after 13 drivers of school transport vehicles were caught for drunk driving, shows how this dangerous practice is widespread and a common affair on Hyderabad's roads.
'All 28 police stations in our jurisdiction have been conducting surprise checks at various locations in the city like HPS out gate, Paradise Junction, and CTO point. Every day, each police station checks about 15 to 20 vehicles at least two times a day,' said P Chandrashekhar working with the Hyderabad traffic police team.
'Often we have noticed drivers driving recklessly. When we stopped to check them, they were found to be under the influence of alcohol.
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Of those apprehended in the recent drive that ended last week, 12 were school bus drivers, 19 auto and four van drivers.
Police mull asking edu dept to act against erring schools
These were among the over 3,000 drivers put through breathalyser tests at random by Hyderabad traffic police.
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All have been booked under the Motor Vehicles Act and taken into judicial custody, said the police.
Hyderabad has more than 10,000 vehicles (buses, autos and vans) ferrying school children every day.
Apart from drunk driving, police also apprehended 100 drivers — 85 auto and 15 private vans — for overloading and carrying more students than their vehicles can accommodate.
'This is an equally dangerous violation as there are high chances the vehicle could lose balance and cause accidents,' said Rahul Hegde, DCP (traffic-1), Hyderabad.
While the police have decided not to initiate criminal action against the schools, they are mulling writing to the education dept urging it to take the erring schools to task. 'During our awareness programme last month, we had urged the schools to be more vigilant and put their drivers through breathalyser tests to ensure safety of students,' said Joel Davis, joint commission of police (traffic), Hyderabad.
'We will reiterate to schools the need to take more stringent measures to curb this dangerous practice. But if we get more cases of violations, we will escalate the matter to the education dept and ask them to revoke the NOCs of schools that allow such drivers to stay employed,' he added.
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