Skip to main content

Over 900,000 European drivers tested for alcohol in summer safety operation

A series of controls to enforce drink driving and drug driving regulations across Europe saw police conduct more than 900,000 breath tests in a seven-day period, of which nearly 18,000 were positive. Motorists were also checked for drugs in the operation, organised by the European Traffic Police Network (TISPOL), between 4 and 10 June. In total, 928,863 drivers were controlled. There were 17,970 alcohol offences and 2,773 drug offences detected.
August 22, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A series of controls to enforce drink driving and drug driving regulations across Europe saw police conduct more than 900,000 breath tests in a seven-day period, of which nearly 18,000 were positive. Motorists were also checked for drugs in the operation, organised by the European Traffic Police Network (650 TISPOL), between 4 and 10 June. In total, 928,863 drivers were controlled. There were 17,970 alcohol offences and 2,773 drug offences detected.

In addition, during the operation, police officers detected a total of 3,369 other crimes, including 277 drug detections, 47 cases of human trafficking and 27 firearms offences.

“Drug-driving and drink-driving remain significant contributory factors in road deaths,” said TISPOL president Pasi Kemppainen. “We have made progress in helping make more and more road users aware of the dangers of driving after taking drugs or alcohol, or both.

Meanwhile, TISPOL’s pan-European speed enforcement operation continues throughout this week. The operation, which involves both static speed detection and roadside officer intervention, forms a key part of the organisation’s strategy designed to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on Europe’s roads.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Calls for smart motorway halt grow louder
    November 5, 2021
    UK transport select committee says hard shoulder motorways “apparently confuse” drivers
  • Road Safety Trust to fund pilot scheme to reduce tailgating
    July 5, 2016
    Transport & Travel Research (TTR) and parent company Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) have secured funding for a pilot scheme to reduce tailgating by business drivers from the Road Safety Trust, a charity that funds research to support its objective of reducing road casualties. TTR is now seeking interest from potential local authority partners that would act as a host for the pilot in their area. Tailgating, or close following, is a widespread concern on UK roads. It makes drivers feel intimidated,
  • Florida cities expand red light cameras
    January 23, 2013
    West Palm Beach is to significantly expand its red-light camera program in 2013 after commissioners approved plans to install cameras at twenty-five new intersections, bringing the number of intersections equipped to catch drivers who illegally run red lights to thirty-two. The move comes despite a recent city police report that tracked five of the existing seven red-light cameras and found crashes nearly doubled in those locations between February 2011 and January 2013, to 66 from 36. Police Chief Vince De
  • Cost benefit: just $25 boosts pedestrian safety in Florida
    April 29, 2019
    A relatively straightforward change to the way that pedestrians cross the street in a Florida city has made a significant safety improvement. And what’s more, it was cheap, finds David Crawford Installing a lead pedestrian interval (LPI) system at 25 central business district signalised intersections in the Florida city of Lakeland has cut numbers of incidents involving pedestrians by some 60% - at a cost of US$25 for 30 minutes' work, according to traffic operations manager Angelo Rao.