Over a third of drivers on Spanish roads have taken drugs, says DGT
Over a third of drivers on Spanish roads have taken drugs, says DGT
NEARLY one in four drivers on Spain's roads are under the influence of drugs, shock figures from the highways and motoring authority reveals.
For every 100 motorists pulled over for random saliva tests, 36 showed up positive results - or 3,600 this year out of the 10,000 or so carried out.
And when standard testing is carried out at the site of a crash, the figure rises to half - only 50% of results were negative.
Head of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), María Seguí says these statistics are a source of 'great concern' for her department, which has been claiming for many months that consumption of illegal drugs by drivers was on the up.
This is why twice as many drug tests have been carried out in 2014 as last year.
Drink-driving is becoming more rare, with only 2% of drivers breathalysed found to have consumed alcohol, but Sra Seguí says this is not such a low figure as it sounds.
Of the three million breathalysed so far in 2014, the 2% means a total of 60,000.
Effectively, it means that every day in every province in Spain, six drivers on the road are over the limit - or for every 50 cars that pass you, one is driven by someone who has had too much to drink.
And another 18 of them will have taken drugs.
The exact types of drugs taken have not been revealed, but Sra Seguí's latest warnings stated that there had been a sharp increase in the number of cannabis-users who took to the wheel before the effects had worn off.
When breathalysing drivers at the scene of accidents, the total of those over the alcohol limit went up to 5%, says the DGT leader.
"There's no need to keep insisting on the importance of a zero-tolerance approach to drug and alcohol consumption in drivers," lamented María Seguí.
She recalled that both of these are subject to substantial fines ranging from 500 to 1,000 euros and the loss of points from the offender's licence, frequently up to six out of the standard 12-15 at a time.
Where drivers involved in accidents, whether or not the crash is their fault, have been drinking, smoking cannabis or taken any other illegal substance, the fine and loss of points is normally only part of the story: prison sentences of up to three years can be applied.
