Kathmandu, January 1

Traffic police took action against 459 persons for driving under influence on New Year’s eve in Kathmandu Valley yesterday.

Officials described it as the biggest single-night crackdown on drunk driving.

Cops had booked 227 drunk drivers on December 31, 2015; 220 on December 31, 2014; 325 on December 31, 2013; 310 on December 31, 2012 and 196 on December 31, 2011.

A joint team of traffic and civil police had opted for rigorous checking till late night ‘to curb road accidents likely to result from drunk driving’ on New Year’s eve.

The cops had set up check points in more than 115 places of the Valley to catch traffic rule violators and to maintain decency. Similarly, 15 mobile teams led by an inspector each had patrolled the city.

One person was injured when two motorcycles collided in Godavari of Lalitpur last night. The injured has been identified as Sudip Tamang. He is undergoing treatment at Imadol-based Kist Hospital.

According to Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, no fatality was reported during New Year’s eve because of the law enforcement agency’s intensified vigil on traffic rule violators.

The Valley had reported 15 road accidents with 14 injuries on New Year’s eve of 2016. All the accidents were associated with negligence and drunk driving.

Many drunk drivers get behind the wheel after partying with friends and family members on the festive occasion. Such recklessness is likely to cause more road accidents.

We mobilised traffic cops in the inner roads as well after finding that most inebriated drivers opt for such roads to outsmart on-duty traffic cops.

The MTPD claimed that elaborate measures against traffic rule violators had resulted in reduction of road accidents by around seven per cent in the Valley.