DGT to intensify police drug and alcohol checks on Spain’s roads

Vehicle with eight occupants drops down 12-metre cliff in Granada while escaping police

Image of Guardia Civil traffic officers. Credit: Guardia Civil.

DGT to intensify police drug and alcohol checks on Spain’s roads this week, between August 2 and 8, with fines of up to €1,000

The General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) has announced the start of a new campaign on Spanish roads to combat the use of drugs and alcohol while driving, starting from today, Monday, August 2, until Sunday, August 8.

In their previous campaign in June, they report the detection of more than 700 incidents with positive tests, and the objective is to combat the use of drugs or alcohol while driving, with possible fines of up to €1,000, or even imprisonment for the worst offenders, if their rate is high enough to deemed a criminal offence.

Drivers are reminded that in Spain it is a crime to refuse to be tested for drugs or alcohol by a traffic police officer, and according to the Penal Code, refusal is punishable by a prison sentence of between six and twelve months, plus a loss of your driving license for up to four years, and the DGT insists once again on remembering that the only safe rate is 0.0 per cent.

During the June campaign, the Guardia Civil Traffic police tested a total of 27,798 drivers on the roads of Andalucia, of which, 26,915 were for alcohol, with 333 drivers showing positive – 1.24 per cent. Of these 333 drivers, 279 were detected in police controls on the road, another 30 after having committed an offence, 19 for being involved in an accident, and the other five for showing obvious symptoms of being drunk.

Regarding drugs tests, out of 883 drivers tested for drugs, 370 were positive, with 323 of them detected during police checks on the road, with the most common drugs detected being cannabis in 287 cases, cocaine in 128, and amphetamines in 41 cases.

This latest campaign by the DGT will see the Guardia Civil Traffic police conducting checks on all categories of roads, at varying times of the day, from today until Sunday, with the knowledge that the majority of incidents occur over the weekends, and near to places with leisure facilities, the DGT has asked for the participation of municipalities to help reinforce the impact of the campaign.

In a bid to cut the number of incidents that put the health of the public at risk, the DGT has warned it will use all possible legal regulations to enforce the campaign, with the Road Safety law setting the maximum level of alcohol permitted as 0.5g per litre in blood, and 0.25mg per litre in exhaled air for general drivers.

For professional and novice drivers the rate is lower, specifically, 0.3g per litre in blood, and 0.15mg per litre in expired air, and any excess of these limits will be grounds for sanction, but it should be noted that depending on the severity, the fine – or the penalty if it is a crime – will be greater or less.

If the driver tests positive and his test obtains a result between 0.25mg per litre, and 0.5mg per litre in exhaled air, the fine will be €500 and the loss of four licence points, but, if the user gives between 0.5mg per litre and 0.6mg per litre in expired air, the penalty will be €1,000, and the deduction of six points, as reported by elespanol.es.

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Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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