The Government Delegation reports that the DGT will launch tomorrow, Monday, a new special control campaign on alcohol rate control and drug presence in drivers, which will run until Sunday, December 22. Given the dates in which we find ourselves, the campaign will have a special impact on the tourist and leisure areas related to the Christmas dates, many of them in urban areas, so it will promote the involvement of the municipalities and their local police.
The aim of this campaign is to raise awareness of the risks of alcohol and drug consumption at the wheel, which is present in a third of fatal accidents as a concurrent or causative factor. These data are derived from the Report of Toxicological Investigations in Traffic Accident Fatalities of 2023, which reveals that of the 862 drivers who died in traffic accidents in Spain and who underwent autopsy and toxicological analysis, 431 tested positive for alcohol, drugs or psychodrugs. Alcohol remains the substance most consumed by deceased drivers, followed by cocaine and cannabis. As for the 221 pawns who died of bullying, 42.5% (94 pawns) tested positive for alcohol, drugs and/or psychotropic drugs.
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 increased rate of alcohol, because alcohol is a factor related to the worst wound prognosis. The campaign insists that the only really safe rate is 0.0 g/l.
From January to October of this year, the Civil Traffic Guard developed in Galicia more than 28,000 alcohol and drug verification checks, in which 605,446 alcohol tests and 8,271 drug consumption tests were carried out. Of these, 9,070 alcohol tests tested positive as well as 4,602 drug tests.
December 2023 special campaign results
In the same campaign carried out between 11 and 17 December last year in Galicia, 28,799 drivers were controlled and 597 were punished, of which 373 were positive in alcohol and 224 in drugs. By provinces where more positives were detected was in A Coruña, with 235 positives, followed by Lugo, with 164, Pontevedra with 113 and Ourense with 85. It should be noted that in 29 of these cases (28 for alcohol and 1 for drugs), the Civil Guard conducted prison proceedings because the results obtained in the tests constituted a crime against road safety.