The police action involved 250 officers and saw 1,200 truck drivers breathalysed at motorway service stations and parking areas on Sunday September 10th. Of that number, as many as 190 were under the influence of alcohol.
Of those 190 drivers, 79 were found to be over the drink-drive limit. As a result, they were banned from continuing their journeys. This means that 6.5% of the drivers that were checked were found to be over the drink-drive limit.
In one case, the driver of an ADR dangerous goods vehicle was three times over the limit (for driving a car).
“The 0.0 per mille limit applies to drivers transporting dangerous goods,” emphasises Hesse police. “Some drivers had breath alcohol levels of 2.29, 2.51, 2.64 and even 2.7.”
In some cases, in order to prevent drivers from leaving as scheduled, the officers clamped trucks or confiscated keys. It must be stated here that some drivers may not have been due to set of on their journeys until the following day, and hence they may have been fit to drive by this point. However, the numbers will no doubt still be concerning to some.
Although police checks of this nature are fairly routine, an inspection involving this amount of drivers is not so commonplace. Therefore, the data compiled during the check arguably gives us the clearest perspective yet on the extent of the drink-driving problem among lorry drivers working in Germany.
