Over 300 booked for drink driving in one week

ALMOST 6,000 drivers were checked for driving under the influence of alcohol during a recent campaign with 316 reported by police during a week-long European-wide operation of the European Traffic Police Network (TISPOL).

TISPOL said more than 7,500 motorists failed the breathalyser tests in 21 countries out of some 422,000 tested.

A total of 7,699 alcohol and 561 drug offences were detected during the operation between June 7 and 13, TISPOL said.

In Cyprus, police tested 5,964 drivers – booking 316 for drink driving.

No drugs offences were detected as Cypriot police do not yet test drivers for narcotics.

It is expected that instant drug screening kits will be used by the police in Cyprus in the near future, police said.

Driving under the influence has been reported as the number one cause of deadly accidents in Cyprus in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Alcohol related road deaths rose 38 per cent in the last year.

In 2009 police breathalysed 130,968 drivers reporting 8,151.

It must be noted that the limit for alcohol consumption varies between European countries.

Chief Superintendent Pasi Kemppainen, chairman of TISPOL’s strategic alcohol and drugs working group, urged the public to avoid taking risks where alcohol or drugs are concerned.

“If you are staying at home, then please be a considerate host and don’t put at risk the friend or family member with the car keys, by giving him or her alcohol”, he said.  “There is no quick way to sober up. Alcohol stays in your bloodstream for many hours, so be careful about driving the morning after a party.”

Kemppainen stressed that specific attention must be given to drivers who use drugs. Since drowsiness is a common side effect of medical drugs, people who take medicines were advised to read the medicine leaflet for any warnings or consult their doctor.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.