Skip to main content

Police operation results show one in 71 drivers over the alcohol limit

A recent drink-drive enforcement operation saw police conduct 1,134,924 roadside breath tests for alcohol, of which 15,791 were positive. Motorists were also checked for drugs in the operation, and 3,157 offences were detected. The operation was organised by TISPOL in 27 countries between 7 and 13 December 2015. TISPOL general secretary Ruth Purdie said: “These figures show a continued decline in the proportion of drivers who fail breath tests, which is good news. “However, if we scale up that proport
February 10, 2016 Read time: 1 min
A recent drink-drive enforcement operation saw police conduct 1,134,924 roadside breath tests for alcohol, of which 15,791 were positive. Motorists were also checked for drugs in the operation, and 3,157 offences were detected. The operation was organised by 650 TISPOL in 27 countries between 7 and 13 December 2015.

TISPOL general secretary Ruth Purdie said: “These figures show a continued decline in the proportion of drivers who fail breath tests, which is good news.

“However, if we scale up that proportion to include all the 300 million licence holders across Europe, then we reach an estimate of more than four million drink-drivers.

“This shows that drink-driving remains a massive problem which will continue to threaten our efforts to meet the EU’s 2020 casualty reduction targets.

Related Content

  • February 5, 2016
    Drink-drive casualty figures ‘unacceptable’ says IAM
    The numbers of people killed and seriously injured on British roads as a result of drink driving have remained largely static for the last five years, according to the latest government figures. The figures show that between 210 and 270 people were killed in accidents in Britain where at least one driver was over the drink-drive limit, with a central estimate of 240 deaths; unchanged since 2010. The number of seriously injured casualties in drink-drive accidents fell by per cent from 1,100 in 2013 to
  • July 13, 2012
    Lenient sentences for dangerous drivers in the UK criticised
    The average sentence for causing death by dangerous driving in the UK is just four years – 62 per cent shorter than for manslaughter, according to road safety charity the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists). While the average sentence length of manslaughter is 6.6 years, those sentenced to prison for causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving are given an average sentence of 1.3 years. Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs has an average sentence of 4.3 years
  • April 16, 2015
    Pan European 24-hour speed enforcement marathon launches
    European Traffic Police Network, TISPOL, has released details of the first pan European 24-hour speed enforcement marathon. In total, 22 countries are taking part in the marathon, starting today, Thursday 16 April at 0600 and continuing to 0600 on Friday 17 April. In the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where the concept was conceived, members of the public have once again been invited to vote on the locations where they would like speed enforcement measures to take place. TISPOL pre
  • June 18, 2020
    European progress on road deaths 'disappointing', says ETSC
    Safety body suggests that the EU will miss its target of halving fatalities by 2020