Drink driving and riding motorbikes without helmets during Kali Puja and Diwali will be dealt with as stringently as any violation of the 8-10pm window for bursting firecrackers.

City police commissioner Rajeev Kumar told traffic officers during a coordination meeting on Friday that they should deploy all available resources to rein in motorbike riders who zip around without helmets and motorists who take the wheel after drinking beyond the permissible limit.

Kumar said during the meeting at Alipore Bodyguard Lines that random checking using breathalysers should be conducted throughout the festive period to reduce the incidence of road accidents caused by recklessness.

“The commissioner doesn’t want any slackness,” said an officer in the traffic department. “The officers-in-charge of the 26 traffic guards have been asked to ensure that breathalysers are in working condition. If a breathalyser is found unusable, the officer concerned should immediately seek a replacement from the equipment section in Lalbazar.”

Motorbike riders without helmets were a common sight on AJC Bose Road, the Parama flyover and the EM Bypass during Durga Puja. The police received a flood of complaints about bikers zigzagging through roads at the risk of harm to themselves and others during the four days of the festival.

A person convicted of drink driving is liable to be imprisoned for up to six months or fined Rs 2,000. The alcohol limit is 30mg per 100ml of blood. Second and subsequent offences can lead to imprisonment for two years or a fine of Rs 3,000.

In Calcutta, someone caught violating the rule usually faces trial only if the offence is clubbed with other charges under the IPC such as rash and negligent driving and causing grievous hurt or death by a rash and negligent act.

The focus of the state government’s Safe Drive Save Life campaign has been motorbike riders, many of whom violate the most basic of safety norms by not wearing helmets.

On the morning of October 20, Samuel Sahani from Beltala Road in Bhowanipore was killed in a motorbike accident outside Syed Baba Mazhar, near the Kidderpore crossing of AJC Bose Road. His friend Amit Balmiki was behind him. Neither was wearing a helmet.

The previous day, a motorbike rider without a helmet was killed in a collision with a taxi on CR Avenue.