11 out of 1,832 drivers were breathalysed on New Year’s Eve
Only 11 of the 1,832 drivers stopped during road checks on New Year’s Eve were subject to a breathalyser test, the police have confirmed with The Malta Independent.
Approximately 12,000 vehicles passed through the checkpoints in place between the evening of 31 December 2017 and the morning of 1 January 2018. However, as was revealed in a police statement published on New Year’s Day, none of the 1,832 drivers stopped for an inspection were found to be driving under the influence of alcohol.
Nine people were booked for driving without a valid licence, while 15 were fined for not wearing a seat belt.
Officers from the police force’s Traffic Branch, Administrative Law Enforcement Section and Dog Section carried out inspections in several locations around Malta, including Baħar iċĊagħaq, Burmarrad, Santa Luċija, Ħal Għaxaq, Senglea, Cospicua, Luqa, Mosta, Naxxar, Iklin, Marsascala, Salini and Paceville.
A police spokesperson told this newsroom that during the checks, 1,832 persons displayed behavioural indicators, 577 showed visual and olfactory indicators, and 208 showed motor co-ordination indicators.
In spite of the ‘indicators’, police only used a breathalyser test on 11 occasions.
“It has to be pointed out that breathalyser tests cannot be performed at random and necessitate the forensic level of reasonable suspicion to be performed as detailed by law,” the police spokesperson said.
“These systems have been used in a similar manner as in previous years, with the benefit of additional instruction to Traffic Branch personnel of systems used throughout the different traffic policing agencies of the European Union.
“Given the above numbers, as well as the enhanced methods of detection, it was positively noted that the message of road safety is finally hitting home, not only in the absence of drivers above the legal blood acohol limit, but also in the general driving standards on the night in question.”