More than 500 motorists from different parts of Kolkata and over 100 from Bidhannagar were prosecuted between Saptami night and the early hours of Ashtami on Monday for violating traffic rules.
According to Kolkata police, more than 80 people were booked for driving without a helmet between midnight and 1am on Monday. Between 1am and 2am, 63 bikers were prosecuted for driving without a helmet.
“The most number of prosecutions resulted from driving without a helmet. That was followed by prosecution for carrying more than one person on the pillion,” a senior officer of Kolkata police said. “As many as 150 people were booked for carrying more than one pillion rider.”
Across thoroughfares, the police stopped vehicles at night and early hours to test whether the persons at the wheel were under the influence of alcohol.
Officers said the number of people booked for drink driving — 81 — was low compared to the number of people booked daily for the offence.
“The majority of the cases were registered between 1am and 2am on Monday,” the officer said.
Senior officers in the Bidhannagar police commissionerate said prosecutions for violation of traffic rules were carried out by all seven traffic guards.
A large number of prosecutions were reported from VIP Road.
Also, many drivers and two-wheeler riders were prosecuted on the roads of Salt Lake, including Broadway.
According to a senior officer, they carried out breath-analyser tests at various places, including New Town, Sector V and near City Centre in Salt Lake.
“Apart from prosecuting people for driving under the influence of alcohol, we booked two-wheeler riders for rash driving and riding without a helmet and for having more than one pillion rider,” said the officer.
Officers said it was not possible to stop each and every vehicle to conduct the alcohol test with a breathalyser. “The number could be more than what we see in the prosecution figures, which is alarming,” said an officer.
In Kolkata, the police said the trend of driving dangerously continued to rise by the hour on some roads.
“While 11 and 18 persons were prosecuted between 10pm and 11pm and from 11pm to midnight, the figure rose to 32 between 1am and 2am,” the officer said.
Other offences, including speed driving, were comparatively fewer early on Monday.
