Police to launch countrywide intensified breathalyser testing

The Police will launch intensified drive against the drunk driving from 2 August to 8 August across the country, particularly the areas where there are holiday homes, said an official press release on Friday.

According to police, more than a third of fatal accidents occur in June-August.

“During the summer, we see an increase in driving under the influence of alcohol, driving at excessive speed and similar incidents that seriously impair safety on the roads. Alcohol-related accidents tend to occur during the first hours of Saturdays and Sundays in July and August, weekend nights and the early hours are times of high accident rates,” said Heikki Ihalainen, Superintendent at the National Police Board.

Intoxicants greatly impair driving ability and so we want to keep them off the roads. The Police will now particularly step up checking the state of drivers also on minor roads outside built-up areas and controls will also be carried out on waterways.

During the coronavirus period, controls can effectively be carried out of “lighter” traffic in areas where there are holiday homes, in which case police patrols will be able to easily detect driver behaviour in traffic and effectively target control.