In the U.S., a labor union and Uber plan to create a drunk-detective ride-sharing app

The union that represents city detectives is set to unveil the first program in the U.S. to allow NYPD officers to get home if they are too drunk to drive. The New York Post (NYP) reported on January 11.

The Detectives Association plans to launch an app in conjunction with Uber that will drive intoxicated police officers around.

"We have a lot of problems with drunk driving when coming home from parties and different events. It's a great benefit to not have to worry, just use the app and order a ride home," noted an NYPD detective who lives in Long Island.

According to the app's developer, Lee Reeves, law enforcement officers will call the Drug Enforcement Administration's toll-free help line to reach an on-duty officer who is on call 24 hours a day. He added that the on-duty officer will take the call and schedule a departure time.

The newspaper notes that the initiative comes after three police officers were arrested for drunk driving in December 2024. According to the detectives' union, 15 law enforcement officers have been arrested for DUI in the last four years.

Roadblock: will the increase in traffic fines affect the number of violations

The amendments will take effect on January 1, 2025

Earlier, on January 9, it was reported that 88 drunk motorists were stopped on the roads of the Tula region on New Year's weekend. In addition, as it turned out, nine drivers had been previously prosecuted for driving while intoxicated.

Prior to that, January 6, a member of the Russian Lawyers Association (RLA), Maria Spiridonova reminded that drivers in Russia face deprivation of driving license up to two years and a fine of Br30 thousand for drunk driving. The expert noted that the same responsibility is threatened for transferring control of the car to a drunk person.

Before that, on December 6, 2024, the Supreme Court (SC) of the Russian Federation recognized that the driver, who is in a drunken state, has no right to get behind the wheel, even if he is asked to do so by a traffic police officer. The highest court considered the case of a Kazan driver who was deprived of his license for drunk driving. The man insisted that he was not going to get behind the wheel, but was forced to do so on the instructions of a traffic officer, who demanded to move the car from the roadway to the curb. When the driver complied with the order, he was immediately tested for intoxication.