The Police spokesperson, Supt. Eric Kayiranga has said that his institution has stepped up the fight against drunk driving following rising number of road accidents that involve alcohol.

Quoting a 1997 law, Kayiranga explained that anyone who is caught driving under the influence of alcohol risks being imprisoned for up to 6 months or fined 20,000Rwf.

"We can’t tolerate this anymore,” Kayiranga said.

Kayiranga said that the law affects those who are found to have alcohol content above the legal limit of 0.80grams per litre of blood by the time of driving.

He said that the tests are done by appropriate equipments such as the breathalysers.

According to kayiranga, out of all the accidents that have happened between the month of January and February , majority are a result of excessive alcohol cosumption.

Kayiranga denied that the police is just enforcing the law but hastened to add that they are only being extra vigilant.
"We are just putting more emphasis in the law because now we have the capacity to cover more areas,”
He advised those not comfortable with the law to avoid drinking when driving..

"We are not stopping people from drinking, but if one takes alcohol, let someone else drive or even park the vehicle and get a taxi”, he said.

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