Police have again been left twiddling their thumbs as inebriated drivers continue to drive dangerously and claim lives on the city’s roads.

The men in uniform have at least 10 breathalysers to keep a check on drink driving but these are only used during special drives, which are few and far between, a maximum of once or twice a month.

Early on Sunday morning, two teenagers, one of them the son of former MP and Lok Janshakti Party leader Surajbhan Singh, lost control of the white sedan he was driving and rammed into a small house under Chitkohra Pul under the jurisdiction of Sachivalaya police station area, crushing a couple.

One Rambharose Sahni (35), was killed on the spot, while his wife, Muniya Devi was seriously injured. Residents caught hold of the duo and beat them up before handing them over to the police.

Sources claimed that the duo were drunk and hence, could not control the car. “At present, the police cannot comment. The duo are being treated at a private nursing home. The police have not found any alcohol bottle from the car. Investigations are on. Necessary action would be taken. The wife of the deceased is also seriously wounded in the accident,” an officer at Sachivalaya police station told The Telegraph.

Sources in the police said breathalysers were used only during special drives. “In Patna, people react to small things. Frequent alcohol tests might lead to a lot of protests, as a huge number of people drink and drive here. Special drives are organised every month and people are checked. The department has 10 breathalysers, which are with the officers-in-charge of different sectors of Patna. On an average, special drives are run twice a month ,” an officer said.

But in Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and other metros, the men on duty do not face such harassment from the offenders even at the dead of night. The amount of penalty after failing a breathalyser test is quite high also. In just five years, Mumbai police collected at least Rs 5 crore as fine since the regular drive started in 2007. Patna, however, lagged in this respect also.

At present, Patna has been divided into 30 sectors with each of them having a sector in-charge for maintaining the traffic scene.

Another police officer, on condition of anonymity, said checks for drunk driving were part of the regular traffic drives too.

“People are caught driving under the influence of liquor though exact figures cannot be given. If an officer catches hold of an offender but does not have a breathalyser, the suspect is brought to the respective police station or traffic police station. Then, he can always be sent for a medical check-up to a hospital or a breathalyser can be used to check the level of alcohol in his bloodstream,” he said.

“The police plan to begin checks using breathalysers regularly with frequent campaigns,” the police officer said.

Any person under the influence of alcohol or drugs, driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle and found to have an alcohol level exceeding 30mg per 100ml of blood detected by a breathalyser shall be punished for the first offence with imprisonment for a term which may extend up to six months or a fine up to Rs 2,000 or both.

Attempts to contact senior police officers proved futile.