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

  • US adopts automated enforcement… gradually
    March 4, 2014
    The US automated enforcement market is in rude health as the number of systems and applications continues to grow and broaden. Jason Barnes reports. Blessed and cursed – arguably, in equal measure – with a constitution which stresses the right to self-expression and determination, the US has had a harder journey than most to the more widespread use of automated traffic enforcement systems. In some cases, opposition to the concept has been extreme – including the murder of a roadside civil enforcement offici
  • Brake calls for action as road casualty figures rise
    February 3, 2017
    Brake, the UK road safety charity, is calling on the government to take action to reduce the numbers killed and seriously injured on Britain’s roads. In recent years road safety policy has been diminished by a lack of interest, urgency and resources, the consequences of which are becoming increasingly apparent as our road casualty figures begin to rise. Brake is calling on the government to act now to uphold its commitment to zero road deaths and injuries on the road. Road casualty figures just released
  • CRASH Predicts ‘unpredictable’ in traffic incidents
    November 11, 2015
    Road crashes are not as random as they may appear and analysing data can reveal patterns that can help various authorities target their resources more accurately. David Crawford reports. Figures from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show that in 2013 there were 32,719 people killed on American roads and 2.31 million injured. While these form part of an overall 25% drop over the decade from 2004, US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx continues to stress that reaching the procl
  • American Traffic Solutions
    March 16, 2012
    The City of Edmonton in the Alberta province of western Canada has a system in place which American Traffic Solutions (ATS) believes exemplifies how a road safety camera programme should be operated. Edmonton’s programme began in September 1999 with six cameras rotating through 12 locations. Nearly 10 years later, at the beginning of 2009, provincial legislation was passed allowing police agencies in Alberta to use road safety cameras to enforce both red light and speed infractions.