Bengaluru: Police resume using breath analysers to check drunk driving

Bengaluru: Traffic police in Bengaluru have resumed the use of breath analyzers to check people driving under the influence of alcohol after nearly 18 months since the practice was stopped due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The breath analyzer tests are being resumed after Bengaluru saw an increase in drunk driving cases.

The city’s Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) BR Ravikanthe Gowda said that the alcometer will be kept in plastic bag for 48 hours and sanitised before reuse

He further said that police will follow all precautionary measures, will sanitize themselves and the motorist before testing them.

It is said that police will provide disposable straws to each person and once the person has used the alcometer, it will be sanitized and put away in a plastic bag for the next three days before it is used again. Over 600 alcometers have been distributed to 60 stations in Bengaluru.

If the person refuses to use the alcometer even with the disposable straw, he will be taken to the nearest government hospital for a blood test to detect whether the person was under the influence of alcohol.