More drivers have been caught driving under the influence
In the first ten months of this year, more people were caught for drunk driving than in all of 2021. Up to and including October, the police produced more than 36,000 reports. In the whole of 2021 there were 31,600. This is according to an analysis by the ANP, based on recently updated police figures.
The number of drunk drivers is also higher than in 2019, the last year before Corona. That year, 32,000 people were caught. The official reports that the police have issued for drunk driving are not just about drinking and driving. This also includes people who are driving with drugs or certain medications, or drivers who have refused a breathalyser test.
Most drivers were caught in Limburg and Gelderland in particular
Especially in Limburg (plus 36 percent) and Gelderland (35 percent) the number of fines for driving under the influence of alcohol increased. Nationwide, that number was 14 percent higher in the first 10 months of this year than in the same period of 2021.
According to the alcohol institute STAP, an exact cause of the increase is difficult to determine, but according to a spokesman it could be a “post-Covid effect”. “People couldn’t go out for a long time, it’s possible that people want to make up for that time. We also see, for example, that alcohol consumption among young people has not decreased at all,” says a spokesman.
According to CBS figures, by 2021 nearly a third of drink driving suspects will be under the age of 25. According to STAP, it could also be that the police have started to enforce more.
The police stopped the control for driving under the influence of alcohol
Police say they are no longer looking into liquor laws. “We pay just as much attention to driving under the influence of alcohol as in previous years,” said a police spokesman.
However, the release of the corona measures is mentioned. “Public and social life slowly started up again and as a result the traffic intensity increased significantly compared to 2021 and 2020.” The police assume that people stayed in their own country more often during the summer holidays and more with the Car out on the street because of problems with public transport. This could potentially contribute to the increase in drunkenness Carmobileists.