Traffic cops have been asked to “exercise discretion” while carrying out breathalyser tests on motorists to minimise chances of infection amid coronavirus fears, sources at Lalbazar said.

The intensity of naka checking will be increased over the next few weeks to make up for the lack of breathalyser tests, conducted to check drink driving, sources said. “Earlier, anyone could be asked to blow through the breathalyser, just on the basis of suspicion. But now it has been verbally communicated across the traffic guards that only those with visible signs of intoxication, should be subjected to the test to reduce the number of persons using the machine,” an officer of the traffic department said.

“As this disease (coronavirus) is highly contagious and can spread through droplets of cough, we are trying to prevent exposure to possible sources of infection unless unavoidable,” a senior traffic police officer said.

The officer, however, clarified that the crackdown on errant drivers would not be relaxed. “This does not mean we are reducing traffic prosecutions. If someone is found driving in a reckless manner, but does not look drunk, he may not be subjected to the test for drink driving, but instead could directly be prosecuted under the section of dangerous driving,” he said.

Motorists, picked up at random, are asked to blow through a pipe attached to the breathalyser that measures the amount of alcohol in one’s blood.

The police usually carry multiple pipes that are changed every time a person is tested, but as the number of tests goes up on weekends, the pipes are often washed for re-use. A new device was recently introduced that allows a person to blow from a distance of around 5cm instead of the pipe touching the mouth, traffic police said.

“But we do not want to take chances. We have asked officers to use discretion in conducting the test,” a senior officer said.

Section 185 of the motor vehicles act says a person can be “imprisoned for up to six months or asked to pay a fine of Rs 2,000, if alcohol exceeding 30mg per 100ml is detected in the bloodstream through a breathalyser”. Second and subsequent offences can lead to imprisonment for two years or a fine of Rs 3,000.