One for the road gets 388 challaned on New Year Eve

NEW DELHI - For 484 party revellers in the capital the New Year began on the wrong foot as they found themselves caught on the wrong side of the traffic rules - and mostly also on the high - Friday night.

Though the number of offenders were on the lower side this New Year’s Eve, a good 388 were also caught drunk at the wheel.

“Delhi Police issued 388 challans for driving under the influence of alcohol and 63 for violating traffic rules, a senior Delhi police official said Saturday. Another 29 people were prosecuted for dangerous driving.

Also, four people were prosecuted for offences such as riding bikes without helmet.

Policemen armed with alcometers (breathalysers) were out at all major traffic junctions to nab tipsy revelers at the wheel. Police also deployed volunteers at 20 intersections in the city to regulate vehicles and pedestrians.

“For us, the New Year dawned literally on the road. Traffic and security arrangements were very well in place and we had an incident free celebration in Delhi, Traffic Police Commissioner Satyendra Garg said on the social networking site Facebook.

Anybody found driving or attempting to drive a vehicle with alcohol level above 30 milligram per 100 millilitre blood faces imprisonment up to six months or a fine of Rs.2,000 or both.

If it is not the first-time offence, one may end up getting a jail term of up to two years or a fine of Rs.3,000 or both, according to traffic rules.

The number of drunk driving cases saw a dip this year compared to 492 violations on the eve of New Year of 2010.