Drunken driving: More cases filed this year

New Year’s eve saw as many as 461 cases of drunken driving being filed by the Bengaluru traffic police, higher than last year’s figures.

Of the 461 cases, 420 were filed in the west division, and 41 in east division. The number of cases filed in 2015 and 2014 on New Year’s eve were 283 and 307 respectively.

However, the traffic police said most of these cases were filed in the west division, which is not where pubs and restaurants are concentrated.

This, they said, is because police personnel were on special duty in areas such as Brigade Road, M.G. Road, Koramangala and Indiranagar.

R. Hitendra, Additional Commissioner of Traffic, said that there was greater awareness this time on not driving after drinking.

Ashish Kothare, chapter head, Bengaluru, and member, managing committee of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), also said that most visitors had chosen to use private cabs as their mode of travel for the day, signalling greater awareness among the people.