Over 300 challan issued for drunk driving on New Year's Eve: Delhi Police

Delhi Police issued over 300 challans for drunk driving in the national capital on New Year's Eve, an increase of over 12 times compared to the previous year, officials said on Sunday.

According to the official data shared by police, a total of 1,329 challans were issued for committing various traffic violations.

Of the total, 318 people were fined for drunk driving, 175 for dangerous driving, 55 for driving on the wrong side, 47 for triple riding, 70 for minor driving, and 664 for driving without a helmet, while 53 vehicles were impounded on the spot, it said.

Traffic police deployed 114 teams, armed with breath analyzers, to check drunk driving on Saturday, they said.

Special pickets were also set up to check stunts on motorcycles, over speeding and reckless driving in coordination with local police and PCR at major points in Connaught Place, Mehrauli, Saket, Nehru Place, Vasant Vihar, South-Extension, Rajouri Garden, Pitampura, Netaji Subhash Place, Laxmi Nagar, Mayur Vihar and so on, police said.

In 2021, 25 people were fined for drunk driving, 19 in 2020 and 299 in 2019, the official data said.

While road accidents claimed two lives on New Year's Eve in 2019, three deaths were reported in 2020 and one in 2021.

No deaths due to road accidents were reported on December 31, 2022.

This was made possible due to the elaborate traffic arrangements laid out in the city to check the incidence of rash and negligent driving during New Year's Eve, it added.