Big Brother is watching for drivers under the influence in Almeria

THE DGT general traffic directorate is running an anti-drink and drugs campaign on the roads of Almeria and the rest of Spain this week.

The campaign, which began on Monday June 6 and runs until Sunday 12, will see Guardia Civil traffic officers stopping drivers to breathalyse them and carry out drugs tests ‘on any road, at any time’ in an attempt to break a worrying upward trend in positive results.

In Almeria Province four such campaigns were carried out last year and statistics from these and other campaigns revealed that half the drivers stopped in Andalucia tested positive for drugs, mostly cannabis or cocaine.

Under the Traffic and Road Safety law, approved last year, driving under the influence of drugs can result in three to six month jail sentences and €1,000 fines for anyone caught driving after taking drugs, with a breathalyser result of twice the legal limit (0.25 mg per litre of air) or who has tested over the limit for alcohol more than once in the same year.

Twelve per cent of drivers on Spanish roads were found to have drunk alcohol or taken drugs before getting behind the wheel at some time during their driving lives according to a study by the DGT, and four of 10 drivers who died in traffic accidents in Spain in 2014 were found by the National Toxicology and Forensic Sciences Institute to be under the effects.