The traffic police will be keeping a close eye this week on office parties, gatherings with friends, pre-Christmas feasts, and the potential excesses that may come with them. Until the upcoming Sunday, December 17, a special campaign is being launched to step up surveillance on alcohol and drug consumption among drivers.
Below, a Guardia Civil checkpoint. Image: Twitter
“The issue of alcohol and drug consumption must be addressed through comprehensive public health policies. In the realm of traffic and road safety, we will reinforce awareness and monitoring actions to reduce the impact on traffic incidents,” explains Álvaro Gómez, the director of the National Road Safety Observatory.
Behind his words lie the statistics. Alcohol consumption is the second most common contributing factor in serious traffic accidents, appearing in 14% of accidents with victims in 2022, and 29% of accidents with fatalities.
And drivers who drink tend to go way overboard: 72.6% of motorists who died with positive alcohol levels in 2021 exceeded a blood alcohol concentration of 1.2 grams per liter, indicating “very severe intoxication,” according to the latest annual report from the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences.
To minimize risks, officers from the Guardia Civils’ Traffic Unit and local police participating in the campaign will set up checkpoints on roads of all levels and urban areas.
There will be round-the-clock surveillance “with the aim of preventing individuals who have consumed alcohol or drugs from driving on the roads,” says the DVLA in a statement.
Penalties:
The legal blood alcohol limit for drivers in the UK is 0.25 milligrams of alcohol per liter of breath (0.15 for novice or professional drivers). For minors, who can drive personal mobility vehicles, mopeds, and motorcycles up to 11 kW and 125cc, the limit is 0.0. Here are the penalties outlined in traffic law:
- Over 0.25 mg/l and up to 0.50 mg/l: £500 fine and 4 points.
- Over 0.50 mg/l: £1,000 fine and 6 points.
- Over 0.60 mg/l: considered a criminal offense, with a sentence of three to six months in prison or a fine of six to twelve months or community service for 30 to 90 days, and a driving ban of one to four years.
- Repeat offenders: £1,000 fine and 4 or 6 points (depending on the given concentration). Repeat offenders are those who have tested positive in a check conducted in the same or immediately preceding year.
- Refusal to undergo testing: six months to one year in prison and a driving ban of one to four years.
