Colombian police stopped a total of 960 people for drunk driving this weekend in a period of just 36 hours, reported El Tiempo on Monday.
According to a special report by the country’s highway police, between 6 PM on Friday and 6 AM on Sunday 960 people were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), averaging at around 26 arrests per hour. Some 391 of these arrests were of motorcyclists, constituting 40% of the total.
The police have so far this year registered 25,000 arrests for DUI throughout the country.
General Rodolfo Palomino of the highway police said that some weekends more than 1,000 people will be arrested for drunk driving and that numbers tend to increase when the weekend is followed by a public holiday.
Palomino stressed the particular dangers for motorcyclists driving under the influence.
“A drunk person driving a motorcycle, at night when it’s raining, is a real danger, not only for himself but for other drivers and pedestrians.”
This year 694 motorcyclists have lost their lives in traffic accidents – a high number, despite being lower than last years figure. The number of people injured in motorbike accidents this year is as high as 5,725.
Colombians found to be driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol are removed from their vehicle, fined and risk losing their driving license for a period of up to eight months.
