Pub will pay for the drunk behind the wheel

Pub will pay for the drunk behind the wheel

We’ll find where a person had his drink and take action against both, says addl commissioner

If you drink and drive not only will you be in trouble but the bar/restaurant where you had your drink also will be in trouble. The police have decided to take their crusade against drink-driving to the next level this year. So, whenever they catch anyone drunk behind the wheels, the police will find out where they had their drink and take action — in extreme cases even licences of a bar or pub or restaurant might be cancelled. Last year the traffic department of the Mumbai police had written to pubs, bars, clubs, restaurants, and discotheques asking them to warn customers against driving their vehicles if they were drunk. As a result, there was not even a minor accident though the police had booked 800 people on the night of December 31. “This year we have decided to make our drive more stringent. We will find where a person had his drink and take action against both,” Brijesh Singh, additional commissioner, traffic, said. “We are writing letters [to pubs, bars, restaurants etc]... They will have to ensure that a drunk person doesn’t drive his vehicle. If we find them breaking rules [having permits, taking down details of a customer], we will ask the licencing authorities to take action,” the officer said. The traffic police will organise meetings with clubs, pubs, bars among others to tell them about the drive. Senior officers up to the rank of assistant commissioner will conduct these meetings. “We will hear their side of the story and try to resolve any difficulties they might have,” Singh said. “We will explain to them they have a legal liability to see to it that no one is driving his/her vehicle after drinking.” The police will start the drive from today.