Ourense, August 16, 2023.- “The consumption of acohol means a loss of reflexes, concentration and sensitivity and awareness of the speed at which the vehicle is going, which will almost certainly cause a sinister on the road that will affect inexorable third parties” this is one of the main messages of Emilio González with which this morning he has started the campaign of control and surveillance of alcohol and drugs that from last Monday August 14 and until Sunday August 21 starts the DGT.
The subdelegate of the Government has been present in the control of this campaign in the province of Ourense that has been carried out in PK 4.5 of the OU-536 as it passed through Castradón - conventional road with the highest accident rate in the province - where it has been accompanied by the provincial deputy head of Traffic of the province, Andrea Conde and the accidental deputy head of the Traffic subsector of the Civil Guard in Ourense, Javier Barja. Emilio González has defended the message that “The fundamental objective of this campaign is to make drivers aware of the great risk involved in driving under the effects of alcohol, drugs or psychotropic drugs.”
Andrea Conde, Deputy Provincial Chief, stressed the importance that “the only safe rate is 0.0” and Javier Barja, Lieutenant Chief, calls for a “special caution in short trips” and that “at any time and any day there can be a control”.
Especially during the summer, the season in which a greater number of festivities are registered, it is more common for drivers to trust these short trips, so both the authorities and the subdelegate emphasize that the only safe rate is 0.0.
During his speech, Emilio González recalled that “although there has been a lower number this year than the previous one, it is not enough, the accidents are still there”. The campaign is carried out not only on the road but also in the streets of the municipalities with local police who join the campaign.
During the first half of 2022 there was a large increase in penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs compared to 2019, reaching more than 95,000 sanctions. However, it is important to point out that, according to the data provided by the Institute of Legal Medicine (Imelga), the number of alcohol positives in accidents with fatalities has decreased from 50% to 2 in 2022.
Four municipalities in the province have already joined this surveillance campaign, including Ourense, O Barco de Valdeorras, Celanova and Xinzo. González recalled that driving under the influence of substances not only endangers the life of the driver himself, but also of other people, as we have recently lived.
These controls are intended to reduce the number of drivers who take the car after they have consumed any type of substance that alters their condition, such as alcohol or drugs.