ROADPOL Alcohol & Drugs – Croatia and Slovenia Leading with Over 3% Drink Violations, Serbia on 3. place

Croatia and Slovenia reported drink-driving rates exceeding 3%, the highest during ROADPOL’s latest Alcohol & Drug enforcement operation.

The operation was traditionally conducted in June, a month marked by longer daylight hours, increased social gatherings, festivals, end-of-school-year events, and the start of vacations, all leading to higher instances of alcohol consumption and potential drug use.

Action

Fifteen ROADPOL member countries took part in the pan-European road police action. According to their reports, more than 700,000 drivers were checked, significantly more than the 495,000 drivers checked during the same operation last year. Of these, 12,132 drivers were under the influence of alcohol (1.71%) and 1,896 (0.27%) under the influence of drugs.

For alcohol, the increase in violation rate is almost 9% (up from 1.57% on average last year), while for drugs, a drop of 28% is observed (down from 0.38% last year). According to the data, during the operation no fewer than 2,820 offenders had their driving licenses suspended.

Data

While it is challenging to determine which country had the highest violation percentage due to differing substance detection methods, the latest operation data reveals interesting findings. Croatia recorded the highest percentage of violations—683 DUIs out of 17,670 checked drivers (3.87%), followed by Slovenia (3.55%) and Serbia (2.78%).

At the positive end were Lithuania (0.31%), Sweden (0.35%), and Slovakia (0.42%). Another intriguing finding was that in Germany the drug violation rate (1185 offenders) almost catches up with the alcohol one (1385 offenders).

– Croatian Ministry of the Interior took a very serious approach to the last ROADPOL international operation. For this action, alongside traffic police officers, a large number of officers from other divisions, such as regular and intervention police, were engaged, resulting in more controls than usual – commented Zoran Brezak, ROADPOL Operational Working Group member from the Croatian Traffic Police Service.

– Additionally, due to the early start of the tourist season, the first six months of 2024 saw a significant increase in foreign vehicles in Croatia, with 34,254,816 vehicles recorded in 2024 compared to 30,835,212 in 2023, representing an increase of 11.09%. Although national statistics show a decrease in the most serious road traffic crashes caused by drivers under the influence of alcohol and drugs, the consumption of alcohol and drugs, or their combination, remains one of the main factors affecting road safety in Croatia – Brezak added.

Trend

– In 2023, drink-drivers caused 9.4% of all road crashes and 25.3% of fatal ones in Slovenia. This year, until 14 July 2024, drink-drivers have caused 9.9% of all road crashes and 32% of fatal ones. The number of drink-drivers has increased – stated the Slovenian Ministry of Interior after being approached for comment by ROADPOL Media.

– The controls carried out during the campaign were targeted, focusing mainly on locations where police officers expected drink and drug driving. To reduce drink-driving, the police will continue to conduct time- and location-specific checks. The goal is to increase the likelihood of catching traffic offenders and those who cause crashes while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. As a result, police officers ask offenders to take breath or rapid drug tests, leading to a higher number of tests performed and a higher number of offenders identified – the Ministry added.

Analysis

– Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs greatly increases the risk of collisions. Unfortunately, our daily policing experience confirms this reality. In many crashes where law enforcement responds, it becomes clear that the driver was under the influence. This is why our control measures are essential, especially when violation rates stay stable or are increasing – commented ROADPOL Operation Working Group Chief Jana Pelešková from the Directorate of Traffic Police at the Police Presidium of the Czech Republic.

– Individuals in the 18-25 age group, with less than two years of driving experience, often referred to as ‘young drivers,’ frequently lack awareness of the dangers of drug driving. Many do not realize that even small amounts of narcotics can make them unfit to drive. Additionally, they tend to underestimate the lasting effects on their driving ability, with some not recognizing that impairment can persist even if the drugs were taken several days prior to the encounter with the enforcement officers – Pelešková urges.

ROADPOL’s next Alcohol & Drug Operation is planned to take place during the pre-Christmas season (16-22 December 2024).

Source: ROADPOL