According to Metropolitan Traffic Police Division (MTPD) officials, the accused can be jailed for 25 days and pay a fine of up to Rs 5000 if the District Administration Office (DAO) finds them guilty. [break]
Similarly, the MTPD has also punched the driving licenses of the drivers. The driving permit gets automatically scrapped if it gets punched five times.
“The report has been forwarded to the district administration,” said DSP Giri.
The traffic police have been conducting surprise checks for the last few days. It was revealed during these inspections that many drivers of public vehicles get drunk early in the morning.
Tulasi Chaudhary, a driver of a microbus (BA 1 JA 6086) on Ratnapark-Nayabasti route, was detained by a traffic officer at 7.40 on Monday morning after he appeared not to be in control of his vehicle, according to the traffic police.
A breathalyzer test confirmed the suspicion. “Even the microbus passengers supported us after we arrested the driver,” Giri added. Chaudhary has been sent to Metropolitan Police Circle, Boudha and he will face a public offence charge.
Another driver of a microbus (BA 1 JA 6309) was sent to police custody on similar grounds. The driver Nabin Bharati was found to be drunk Friday morning while driving a microbus on Ratnapark-Narayanthan route.
In a bid to control road accidents, the traffic units across the Valley have been launching surprise checks at various places. Similar drive brought road fatalities to zero during the 15 days of Dashain festivities in 2012, claimed MTPD spokesperson Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Pawan Giri.
The MTPD recorded 128 fatalities in a year from mid-April 2012 to mid-April 2013 due to road accidents. The fatality was high in 2068 BS as 171 people lost their lives that year.
Though casualties have declined, road accidents are still on rise. As many as 5,096 accidents were registered in the Valley last year, whereas 4,914 road accidents were recorded in the year before the last.
People have become more vulnerable to road accidents due to the ongoing constructions, according to Superintendent of Police (SP) Jagat Man Shrestha.
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