• The government delegate in Cantabria has come to Parbayón to supervise the start of the special surveillance campaign of the DGT together with the provincial head of Traffic and commander of the Traffic Sector of the Civil Guard

The government delegate in Cantabria, Pedro Casares, has highlighted the importance of continuing to raise awareness of not consuming alcohol and/or drugs when driving as this is one of the main causes of serious traffic accidents and fatalities.

Casares pointed this out this Monday in Parbayón where he went to supervise one of the controls of the special campaign of alcohol and drug surveillance of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) that takes place from this Monday, December 15, to Sunday, day 21.

Accompanied by the provincial head of Traffic, José Miguel Tolosa, and the commander of the Traffic Sector of the Civil Guard, Jorge Giro, the representative of the State has detailed that up to 180 traffic agents will intensify until Sunday the controls on this risk factor causing 28% of accidents with fatalities.

To this end, Casares has indicated that different control points will be established on all types of roads and at any time of the day with the aim of preventing people who have ingested alcohol or have consumed drugs from circulating on the roads. The forecast, he has detailed, is that the agents of the Civil Guard will carry out in these seven days more than 4,000 alcohol and drug tests.

In order to deter the consumption of them during driving on all types of roads, the delegate has pointed out that the Provincial Traffic Headquarters has invited the municipalities of more than 25,000 inhabitants to join the campaign, with the establishment of controls in their respective urban centers.

For several years, the DGT has been working with municipalities and developing a support plan for local police in the area of alcohol and other drug testing, conducting training courses and equipping them with tools to carry out drug controls. The participation of local authorities in this area is essential in order to carry out surveillance as close as possible to the consumer areas and avoid greater risk exposure.

In the Autonomous Community of Cantabria, the Local Police of Santander, Torrelavega, Camargo and El Astillero carry out checks for the detection of drugs in their urban area, having the necessary technical equipment and having agents with the training required for such checks. With regard to alcohol controls, the main municipalities of the region already have equipment for the realization of this type of controls.

ALMOST 2,000 COMPLAINTS OF ALCOHOLEMIA IN 2024

On the other hand, in 2024, 1,853 complaints were filed for alcohol and 1,336 for drug consumption at the wheel and, until the end of December, the data already points to a decrease in this 2025, with 1,582 complaints for alcohol and 1,201 for drugs.

This same campaign was carried out last year also on the dates close to the Christmas festivities and during that week the agents of the Civil Guard and the Local Police carried out 4,256 tests of alcohol, of which 38 were positive, and 142 of drugs, with 60 positive.

Casares has pointed out that citizens are increasingly aware of the importance of not driving under the effects of alcohol, as well as drugs, but we must continue to raise awareness because this consumption is involved in 28% of accidents with fatalities.

For this reason, the representative of the State has valued the work of the Government of Spain, together with the General Directorate of Traffic, to continue reducing the rate of alcohol allowed at the wheel. Currently, the Congress of Deputies is proposing a law to reduce the maximum permitted rate to 0.10 mgr/liter expired air instead of the current 0.25.

THE IMPORTANCE OF DATA

• In 2024, the percentage of deceased drivers who tested positive for alcohol and/or drugs was 48.2%.

• Of the 48.2% who tested positive, the most notable fact is that 67.1% of the cases had a rate higher than three times the maximum rate regulated in the Traffic Regulations.

• According to the Report of the Public Prosecutor of Road Safety of 2024, 47,100 drivers were convicted in Spain for driving with high rates of alcohol and/or under the influence of alcohol and other drugs and forced to serve any of the following penalties. In the same period of time, 637 drivers were convicted in Cantabria.