The subdelegate of the Government in Ourense, Eladio Santos, this morning asked the citizens not to drive under the effects of drugs and alcohol, a behavior "that was behind 60% of the fatal accidents that occurred in the province this year." He did so during the presentation of the special alcohol and drug control campaign that begins this Monday and will run until July 20. He was accompanied by the head of the Traffic Subsector of the Civil Guard of Ourense, Javier Barja, and the provincial head of the General Traffic Directorate, David Llorente.
During the supervision of the beginning of the campaign, on the O-101 road, an entry road to the city of Ourense, Eladio Santos warned of the "terrible consequences" caused by the substances at the wheel, since in the 5 fatal accidents that occurred in the province during this year (4 in state competition and a statement by the Local Police of Ourense), in 3 of them alcohol or drugs were present in the explanation of the causes of the accident. Therefore, he appealed to the need for awareness on the part of the citizens.
The subdelegate of the Government explained that this traditional campaign is carried out throughout Spain, not only on roads, but also on the urban roads of the municipalities with local police that joined the initiative. In the province of Ourense there are three Local Police, those of O Barco de Valdeorras, Xinzo de Limia and Trives. "These types of surveillance campaigns are essential and help maintain safety on the roads, because you don't have to lower your guard either inside towns and cities or outside," he said.
With respect, Santos reported that the administrative sanctions for driving with the presence of alcohol and other drugs were 1,024 in the province of Ourense so far this year, which motivated the loss of more than 4,700 points. "In addition, we have the crimes against road safety, where we can say that between the Civil Traffic Guard and the Local Police more than 200 cases were filed in the province for the crime of positive alcohol, while the positive drugs were processed administratively in their entirety," he said.
Regardless of the sanctions, the subdelegate pointed out that in Spain there is already the rate 0 of alcohol for underage drivers (holders of AM moped and La1 motorbike permits of up to 125cc) since March 2022. In addition, he recalled that it is currently being processed to include a general air rate for all drivers of 0.1 mg/l in exhaled air, which is equivalent to not tolerating alcohol consumption at the wheel. Finally, he indicated that as far as drugs are concerned, the mere presence of them in the driver is punished, so the message is also "of total incompatibility of drugs and driving".