From today, Monday, August 14, and until next Sunday, day, 20, the DGT Special Campaign on alcohol rate control and drug presence in drivers will take place. The troops of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard will control more than 4,000 drivers on the roads of Extremadura.
In the previous Special Surveillance and Control Campaign, carried out between August 8 and 14, 2022 in Extremadura, 53 drivers were denounced by the agents of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard; 34 of the drivers were for alcohol consumption (18 in Badajoz and 16 in Cáceres); while 19 were punished for drug consumption (6 in Badajoz and 13 in Cáceres).
Alcohol consumption remains the second most frequent concurrent cause in fatal traffic accidents on the roads. Its presence in driving, depending on its rate, multiplies between 2 and 15 the risk of suffering an accident. Not only is it related to a greater accident, but it also has an impact on a greater mortality, as it is a factor linked to a worse prognosis in the injuries suffered.
Even with blood alcohol rates within the permitted legal margins, the level of traffic accident risk may be increased. The only safe rate is 0.0%. For this reason, you have to be consistent and try to prevent other people who have drunk from taking the car, and, in any case, never get in the car with such people. Alcohol remains the substance most consumed by deceased drivers, followed by cocaine and cannabis, and thirdly, psychoactive drugs.
In the year 2022, according to the Report of Toxicological Findings in Road Traffic Accident Fatalities, of the total of 854 drivers killed in road traffic accidents and subjected to autopsy and toxicological analysis, 443 yielded positive results for alcohol, drugs of abuse and psychopharmaceuticals, alone or in combination.
For all these reasons, the present control and surveillance campaign is essential to contribute to reducing the attitudes of users that involve high-risk behaviors, that put at risk the safety of circulation, put at risk their own life, and the life of other road users.