Police to file FIRs, cancel licences, seize vehicles to curb drunk driving

The fivefold increase in fines for drunk driving has clearly not deterred city motorists if the numbers are anything to go by.

- Megha Sood

MUMBAI: The number of people apprehended while driving under the influence has quadrupled, prompting the Mumbai traffic police to start registering FIRs against drunk drivers, and taking steps to cancel their driving licenses and impound their vehicles.

In 2023, the Mumbai traffic police nabbed 2,562 drunk drivers. Despite the fine for drunk driving going up from ₹2,000 to ₹10,000 for the first offence and ₹15,000 for subsequent offences, in 2024 the number of inebriated drivers caught by the Mumbai traffic police rose to 9,462, marking an almost fourfold increase over the previous year.

"We have observed that the penalty amount is not enough to deter drunk drivers, and therefore we have now started registering FIRs under the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Motor Vehicles Act and cancelling driving licenses as well," said Anil Kumbhare, joint commissioner of police, traffic.

Kumbhare said that 1,356 drivers were apprehended for drunk driving during the nakabandis across the city in the first three months of 2024. As the number was high, the traffic police intensified its focus on drunk driving, but in the first three months this year, the number increased to 2,264, prompting them to start registering FIRs.