Delhi Traffic Police will soon be armed with passive breath analysers to detect whether the driver behind the wheels has consumed alcohol or not. These new-age devices will be able to ascertain by face of a person itself and not making the drunk drivers to breathe into the alcometers by inserting them into their mouths.
The tender process for 128 passive alcometers is in the final stages and the units will be supplied to the Traffic Police within the next few weeks. The Traffic Police at present have over 200 alcometers, a device that checks the presence of alcohol in a person’s blood. As per Section 185 of the Motor Vehicle (MV) Act, a motorist is liable to be challaned if found under influence of alcohol content in excess of 30 mg per 100 ml of blood.
“The new alcometers will be able to detect the content of alcohol while a person is talking. This will save the traffic personnel of the brawls and arguments with the drivers who are adamant not to undergo the alcometer test due to hygiene issues. Additionally, it will prove to be a more hygienic method for the personnel too,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Anil Shukla.
He added that for better enforcement purposes, 50 of these alcometers will be handed over to the important police stations in the city. “The rest 78 will be used by the Traffic Police to tighten the noose around the tipsy drivers in the city,” he added. Till December 31, Traffic Police have prosecuted 26,633 drivers for driving under the influence of alcohol out of which 3,628 people have been awarded with jail term.