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

  • October 19, 2016
    Results from Project EDWARD
    Results from the first European Day Without A Road Death (Project EDWARD) on 21 September have been published by TISPOL (the European Traffic Police Network) and the European Commission. Project EDWARD took place in 31 countries and more than 103,000 organisations and individuals signed a road safety pledge on the website of the European Traffic Police Network (TISPOL). More than 80 road safety actions were organised across Europe, including information and awareness-raising activities in schools and com
  • October 5, 2015
    Get most dangerous drivers off Europe’s roads, say police chiefs
    As part of its support for the European target of halving road deaths by 2020, Tispol will use its annual Conference in Manchester on 6 and 7 October to call for better protection of vulnerable road users, with greater efforts to rid Europe’s roads of the most dangerous drivers. Senior police officers, academics, policy makers and other road safety professionals will consider a range of specific issues during the two-day conference, including: Safer driving in later life; Fatigue in emergency service dr
  • January 25, 2012
    Drugs and driving: new international study
    The incidence of drugs among drivers injured or killed in road accidents is in the range of 14-17 per cent, according to a new report published by the International Transport Forum, a transport think tank at the OECD. Cannabis and benzodiazepines top the list of drugs involved in lethal motor accidents, according to the study.