Panchkula, Feb. 3 -- Motorists planning to down a few drinks before driving to hill destinations such as Kasauli, Solan and Shimla may now have to think twice, as daily drunk-driving checkpoints in Panchkula have put the brakes on speeding and drinking behind the wheel. The once-notorious Kalka-Shimla highway, often treated as a thrill ride by weekend travellers, is now under constant scrutiny. Along with a naka at the Chandimandir Toll Plaza on the Kalka-Shimla highway, police are also keeping an eye on travellers taking the Panchkula-Yamunanagar highway with a checkpost at the Jaloli Toll Plaza. These checkpoints operate for four hours during late evenings, targeting peak hours of drunk driving. The targeted action has resulted in over 800 drunk-driving challans between November 19 and January 27 at these two locations alone, and around 70 vehicles were also impounded. Officials noted that most offenders were from other districts of Haryana or from outside the state, while local residents and commercial vehicle drivers account for few cases. Female offenders are also rare and, in most instances, their blood alcohol levels are below or close to the permissible limit. "On an average, three to four offenders are caught for every 100 vehicles checked. However, due to heavy traffic, it is not possible to stop every vehicle," said a traffic cop. ACP (Traffic) Surender Singh said the move was aimed at making highways safer by reducing the risk of accidents caused by drunk drivers. Apart from the daily nakas, police teams are also conducting surprise checks across the city to ensure safer roads for everyone. Police claim the crackdown is working. While earlier, around 10 challans were issued daily on these highways, the number has almost halved now. Overall, as many as 730 challans have been issued and 70 vehicles impounded across the district in January alone. Police surveillance has also revealed the practice of "paid drivers", arranged by night clubs for drunk patrons to evade challans. A sub-inspector revealed two recent cases where hired drivers crossed the naka, dropped the actual car owner just after the checkpoint, and charged Rs.500 per trip to beat the system....