Filenews 22 February 2022 - by Michalis Hadjivasilis
There is no precedent for the situation with drivers who get behind the wheel while under the influence of substances. First the alcohol test and then the narcotest, they catch fire mainly on Friday and Saturday nights, with the Traffic Police counting about five dead drivers a year they were under the influence of alcohol or drugs or both.
The traffic police's motorbikes are hit red every night, whether they are for an alcohol test or a narcotest, which even in times of pandemic and quarantine, recorded violations of drivers who had used substances. According to police data, which was cited to "F" by the spokesman, Christos Andreou, last month alone, 67 drivers who were caught in the narcotest were reported. Also, in 2021 another 690 drivers were reported, in 2020 744 drivers were reported and in 2019 575 drivers were found to be under the influence of drugs. From the analyses of saliva samples at the State Chemical Laboratory, it was found that the most prevalent substance with which drivers were identified was cannabis, followed by cocaine and methamphetamines. It is noted that the tests for narcotest are targeted and the prosecution is done after analysis of the samples at the State Chemical Laboratory.
As far as alcohol is concerned, things are even worse, since very easily and unconsciously, drivers get behind the wheel after having previously consumed alcohol. According to the data, last year 2,311 drivers were reported after 27,953 checks (checks were reduced due to anti-pandemic measures), while in 2020 3,911 drivers were caught in the torch of traffic police after 44,576 checks. In 2019, complaints soared after reaching 7,188 after 80,644 checks. In 2018, 102,000 audits were carried out which resulted in 6,140 complaints.
Indicative of the situation is that last Friday night alone in Paphos, 17 cases of drivers who were under the influence of substances were recorded. The 13 were driving under the influence of alcohol and the other five had consumed drugs.
The five drug cases involved a 22-year-old, a 45-year-old resident of a village in the Pafos district, a 49-year-old permanent resident of Paphos, a 25-year-old permanent resident of Pafos, and a 33-year-old woman.
