• The Government delegate in Castilla y León has announced that the number of controls is increased to remember that on these dates of meetings, in which alcohol is usually present, at the wheel, the only safe rate is 0.0% • Alcohol consumption in Castilla y León is the third most frequent concurrent cause in fatal traffic accidents behind distraction and inadequate speed • In 2023, alcohol has been a concurrent factor in three of the 105 fatal accidents that have taken place on interurban roads, which is 3%. In these accidents there were 4 fatalities

December 11, 2023.- The delegate of the Government, Virginia Barcones, has presented the special control campaign of the General Directorate of Traffic to prevent the presence of alcohol and drugs at the wheel. He explained that in Spain during 2022 alcohol was present in one of every five accidents with fatalities, so he recalled that the only safe rate at the wheel is 0.0%.

The campaign that the DGT will carry out takes place from today and until next Sunday 17. These are days before Christmas in which a large number of meetings are held with family and friends, in which alcohol is usually present, sometimes mixed with other substances. Sometimes, after having ingested one and the other, or both, some people put themselves at the wheel “obviating the danger it implies for them, for those who travel with them or for other road users”, said Barcones, who has been accompanied in the presentation by the subdelegate of the Government in Burgos, Pedro de la Fuente; the regional coordinator of the DGT, Inmaculada Matías, and the lieutenant colonel head of the Traffic Sector of the Civil Guard in Castilla y León, Francisco Iturralde.

To raise awareness and avoid the risk, agents of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard (ATGC), as well as the local police of the municipalities that have joined the campaign, will establish different control points on all types of roads, as well as in the urban centers, and at any time of the day, with the aim of preventing people who have ingested alcohol or consumed drugs from driving.

RISK FACTOR

Campaigns such as these are important since the consumption of this type of substances remains, year after year, one of the three main risk factors in traffic accidents, both in mortals and in accidents with victims. “Alcohol, depending on its rate, multiplies the risk of suffering a traffic accident between 2 and 15,” said the delegate.

Alcohol consumption in Castilla y León is the third most frequent concurrent cause in fatal traffic accidents behind distraction and inadequate speed.

In Castilla y León, during the year 2022, of the 121 fatal accidents recorded on the roads, in 10 alcohol was present as a concurrent factor and 14 deaths were regretted. This accounts for 8% of total fatalities (10 out of 121), and 10% of fatalities (14 out of 136). In other words, “one in ten deaths on the roads during 2022 had alcohol as a concurrent factor. One in ten deaths could have been avoided if alcohol consumption had been avoided,” said Barcones.

In 2023, of the 105 fatal accidents that have occurred in interurban roads, in 3 accidents in Ávila, León and Valladolid, the concurrent factor was alcohol, which represents 3%. In these sinister events, 4 fatalities had to be mourned.

Last year, this campaign to control alcohol and drugs around Christmas dates took place between December 5 and 12. In Castilla y León, 15,376 alcohol tests were carried out, of which 83 were positive, 0.54%. Transferred to Burgos, it should be noted that 2,113 tests were performed and there were seven positives.

There were also 196 drug use tests, of which 78, almost 40%, were positive. It is a worrying figure that is far from the 23% of positives that there were during the campaign carried out shortly before Christmas 2021. In Burgos there were six tests and one positive for drug use.

For its part, the Spanish Road Safety Strategy 2030 points out as one of its strategic areas the “Zero tolerance with risky behaviors”, which identifies the behaviors of the consumption of alcohol and other drugs as a behavior contrary to road safety, so, campaigns such as this, which increase the impact of surveillance through better planning and also enhance the surveillance of high-risk behaviors through the application of new technologies, are priority lines of action.

ALCOHOL AND DRUG REGULATIONS

The consumption of alcohol has serious effects on driving and on accidents. Increased reaction time, underestimation of speed, as well as vision and coordination problems are consequences of alcohol intake. “Drunk driving accidents also become much more serious with the increase in the blood-alcohol ratio,” said Virginia Barcones.

The delegate recalled that the only safe rate is 0.0% since, even with blood alcohol rates within the legal margins allowed, there is a risk of causing an accident.

In addition, 0.0% is the rate, both in blood and in expired air, that must be respected by underage drivers who drive any vehicle after the entry into force of the reform of the Traffic and Road Safety Law.

SANCTIONS

Penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol bring with them economic fines and loss of points depending on the rate of alcohol in the blood and the presence of drugs.

In the case of alcohol, fines can range from 500 to 1,000 euros and losses of four to six points of the card depending on the blood alcohol rate or whether or not you are a repeat offender. In the case of positive drugs the penalty is 1,000 euros and the loss of six points.

For its part, chapter IV of Title XVII of the Penal Code criminalizes traffic safety and establishes the following penalties for driving with excess alcohol or under the influence of toxic drugs, narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances.

This classification establishes for rates higher than 0.60 milligrams/litre in air or 1.2 grams/litre in blood or driving under the influence of toxic drugs, narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances, prison sentences of three to six months, fine of six to twelve months or work for the benefit of communication of 30 to 90 days, and deprivation of the right to drive for one to four years. Likewise, refusing to undergo the tests can result in prison sentences of six months to one year and deprivation of the right to drive for one to four years.

In addition, since the entry into force of the Points Permit at the national level, about 13% of the offenders punished and 13% of the points deported have been related to driving with a higher alcohol rate than established.

CASTILE AND LEON IN 2022

There were 5,325 administrative complaints of alcohol and 2,714 administrative complaints of driving under the influence of drug use.

1,019 judicial proceedings were opened in connection with the following offences:

• Driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages.
• Driving exceeding the established rates of alcoholic beverages.
• Refusal to perform the legally established alcohol blood tests.

Nineteen judicial proceedings were opened in connection with the following offences:

• Driving under the influence of toxic drugs, narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances.
• Driving under the influence of drugs.
• Refusing to perform legally established drug tests.

Virginia Barcones has also recalled that it is a social duty “to comply with road safety regulations to prevent and avoid fatal traffic accidents”. “For this reason, I call on all the drivers of Castilla y León not to take the car if they have consumed alcohol or drugs, because to do so is to endanger their lives and those around them,” he stressed to ask for the collaboration of citizens in this regard.

At the same time, he explained the Special Traffic Operation of the Constitution and Immaculate Bridge in which 862,000 vehicles were expected to circulate on the roads of Castilla y León, resulting in two fatalities. Especially tragic has been the balance in Soria, where in just 20 hours four fatalities were recorded, although two before the start of the special operation.

Finally, Virginia Barcones has thanked the agents of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard for their efforts to make the roads increasingly safe, as well as the collaboration of the local police of the different municipalities in this work.

Maximum Alcohol Rates Allowed to Drive

DRIVERS	LIMIT IN BLOOD	LIMIT IN EXPIRED AIR
GENERAL	0.5gr/l	0.25mg/l
PROFESSIONAL	0.3gr/l	0.15md./l
NOVELS	0.3gr/l	0.15md./l

Penalties (alcohol)

RATE	SANCTION
Between 0.25gr./l	500 euros and 4 points
More than 0.50ml./l	1,000 euros and 6 points
Recidivists	1,000 euros and 4 or 6 points (depending on the given rate)

Sanctions (drugs)

	SANCTION
Driving with the presence of drugs in the body	1,000 euros and 6 points

Crimes (alcohol)

CRIME	PENALTIES
Rates higher than: 0.60 ml/l in air 1.2 gr./l in blood	Imprisonment from three to six months or fine from six to twelve months or work for the benefit of communication from 30 to 90 days, and deprivation of the right to drive from one to four years.
Refusal to undergo the tests	Imprisonment from six months to one year and deprivation of the right to drive from one to four years

Crime (drugs)

CRIME	PENALTIES
Driving under the influence of toxic drugs, narcotics or psychotropic substances	Imprisonment from three to six months or fine from six to twelve months or work for the benefit of communication from 30 to 90 days, and deprivation of the right to drive from one to four years.
Refusal to undergo the tests	Imprisonment from six months to one year and deprivation of the right to drive from one to four years