Downed one for the road? The traffic police may just pardon you

The top brass of the Bangalore traffic police on Friday issued a circular to all their men to refrain from entering into arguments or fisticuffs with motorists suspected to be under the influence of alcohol.

The men were instead asked to make suspects to undergo alcometre test. However, not all motorists found positive in the test, would be penalised.

Motorists under the influence of alcohol normally bandy words with policemen knowing well that they would lose a day in a magistrate court.

“We have told the police not to argue with anyone found driving under the influence of alcohol. The police have been asked to record all proceedings on camera, if the offender is indulging in argument,” a home ministry official said. The traffic police issued the circular on a directive from the home ministry.

The circular had instructed traffic policemen to avoid slapping fines on those who had consumed alcohol slightly above the permissible limit.

“If the alcohol content in blood is slightly above the permissible level of 30 mg, the motorist may be pardoned. This decision is based on the physique of the motorist. People with different physique may show varied readings on the alcometre. We are giving people a little breathing space so that they need not unnecessarily argue with the police personnel,” a home ministry official said.

The official said motorists, flagged down for suspected drink driving, were given the option of voluntarily undergoing medical tests. The police would not recognise spot fine, since any case of drink driving would be transferred to the traffic management centre through BlackBerrys provided to inspectors.

Additional commissioner of police (Traffic) Praveen Sood said citizens were impressed with police who were now employing high-tech gadgets. “We have been updating the technology to make motorists’ life comfortable. There need be no fear of traffic police troubling motorists,” he added.