The General Directorate of Traffic has launched a Special Campaign on the control of the alcohol rate and presence of drugs in drivers that will be in force from December 11 to 17 on the roads of Extremadura.
In the previous Special Surveillance and Control Campaign, which was carried out between December 5 and 11, 2022, 3,552 alcohol controls were carried out, 1638 in Badajoz and 1914 in Cáceres, in which 44 drivers were reported by agents of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard, 26 in the province of Pacense and 18 in the province of Cáceres.
As for drug controls, 103 tests were carried out, 56 in Badajoz and 47 in Cáceres, with a total of 45 positives, 25 in the province of Cáceres and 20 in the province of Cáceres.
Effects of alcohol on driving and accident
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. Accidents with drunk drivers also become much more serious with the increase in the blood alcohol rate.
Although we believe in the full use of our physical and mental faculties, with the intake of alcohol we are multiplying the risk of suffering a traffic accident; even with blood alcohol rates within the legal margins allowed, the level of risk of traffic accident can 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.
Statewide
Alcohol consumption remains the second most frequent concurrent cause in fatal traffic accidents on the roads, with greater intensity of both the total percentage of accidents and the total percentage of cases with deaths than the previous year. Alcohol was present in 14% of the accidents in the year 2022; at the same time it was a concurrent factor in 29% of traffic accidents with fatalities, with 264 associated cases.
Since the entry into force of the Point Permit Act, about 12% of the offenders punished and 14% of the points deported have had their cause in driving with a higher alcohol rate than established. Two out of three road safety crimes are alcohol-related.
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.