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 1, 2015
    IAM calls for more visible policing as speeding offences rise
    Figures obtained by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) show that, over the last decade, speeding is still the biggest motoring-related offence where the defendant is found guilty in court. The numbers of those found guilty have risen sharply in the past 12 months – from 115,935 to 148,426, an increase of 28 per cent, the highest number since 2005. The 2014 figures were two per cent greater than 2004. The next highest offence where defendants were found guilty was vehicle insurance-related crime
    Read More
  • February 20, 2019
    Road death toll increasing in poor countries, says WHO report
    The latest figures from the World Health Organisation on road deaths make sobering reading – but they are particularly shocking when you consider how the relative poverty of countries contributes to high fatality rates, says Adam Hill Around 1.35 million people died on the world’s roads in 2016, while road traffic injuries are now the leading cause of death among young people, according to new statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO). Perhaps the most sobering point from its latest research
    Read More
  • January 24, 2012
    In-vehicle automation of safety compliance and other traffic violations
    David Crawford explores new initiatives in enforcement. Achieving the EU’s new road safety target of reducing road traffic deaths by 50 per cent by 2020 depends on removing legal and institutional barriers to the deployment of new enforcement technologies, stresses Jan Malenstein. The senior ITS Adviser to Dutch National Police Agency the KLPD, and a European-level spokesperson on road and traffic safety, points to the importance of, among other requirements, an effective EUwide type approval process for fr
    Read More
  • January 26, 2017
    Call for targeted safety measures to prevent road deaths among young drivers
    Zero tolerance on drink driving, additional hazard perception training and graduated forms of licensing should become the norm to help tackle the risks faced by young drivers and motorcycle riders in Europe, according to the YEARS report (Young Europeans Acting for Road Safety. More than 3,800 young people (aged 18-24) are killed each year on EU roads – the biggest single cause of death for this age group. A report by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) and the UK Parliamentary Advisory Council
    Read More

Highlighted Content