With public service advertisements on drink-driving doing the rounds of all forms of media, chances are that by now you have got the message loud and clear

Don't want to drive drunk, but where are the cabs?

With public service advertisements on drink-driving doing the rounds of all forms of media, chances are that by now you have got the message loud and clear. The problem is so has everybody else. So if you are planning to book a cab to drive you home after a New Year party, it might be too late already.u00a0

"It's party time and everyone wants to get high. New Year is a waste without drinking but we don't want cops to play party pooper by catching us driving drunk. So I have already booked a cab to pick and drop me," said Harshvardhan Singh who works in Noida.

With rising awareness about the ill-effects of drink-driving and strict prosecution by the traffic police in the past year, radio cab operators and chauffeur services say advance bookings for the early hours of January 1
have touched an all-time high.

So chances are that if you leave it to the last moment to get a cab, you might be disappointed. Lots of hotels and restaurants have also booked cabs in advance to drop off those customers who have had a few drinks too many.

"There is no point
driving back in the fog, especially after some drinks. I have already made an online booking for a cab for 3 am on January 1. When I am already paying so much to attend a New Year party, why not pay a little extra to get home safe," said Badal Srivastav, a real estate agent who is to party at a famous nightclub in south Delhi.
Even cab services have geared up to meet the increasing demand, as the number of calls for booking has reached an all time high.

"More cabs will be made available during evening hours to cater to the demand of passengers who would prefer reaching their destinations by a taxi rather than driving their personal vehicles. Our teams will be patrolling the roads to ensure that our captains are able to deliver prompt and courteous service to customers.

The Call Centre capacity will be adjusted to cater to the increasing load of incoming calls," said Rajesh Puri, CEO Meru Cabs ccording to the Indian Motor Vehicles Act, the permissible alcohol limit is 30mg/100ml of blood.

Fine drive

The fine for drink-driving is Rs 2,000 or imprisonment of upto six months or both and for
subsequent offences, the fine is Rs 3,000 or two years of
imprisonment or both.
In the year 2009, as many as 189 prosecutions were carried out; 125 were from the southern range, 45 from northern range and 19 from New Delhi range. In 2008, as many as 353 people were booked for driving dangerously and under the influence of alcohol in the Capital on New Year's Eve.

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