Skip to main content

TISPOL video highlights Finnish crackdown on drink drivers

Traffic police in Finland have been carrying out breath tests across the country in a bid to reduce the around “58 cases a day” of drink-driving detected on the nation’s highways. A recent breath test day operation was held in Mikkeli, southern Finland and filmed by TISPOL (the European Traffic Police Network). Speaking to the TISPOL film crew during the test day, Finland Traffic Police Chief Inspector Jarmo Puustinen said, “We are doing this because we have an average of 21,000 cases monthly where people
December 17, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Traffic police in Finland have been carrying out breath tests across the country in a bid to reduce the around “58 cases a day” of drink-driving detected on the nation’s highways.

A recent breath test day operation was held in Mikkeli, southern Finland and filmed by 4753 TISPOL (the European Traffic Police Network).

Speaking to the TISPOL film crew during the test day, Finland Traffic Police Chief Inspector Jarmo Puustinen said, “We are doing this because we have an average of 21,000 cases monthly where people are driving under the influence of alcohol. Every day we catch approximately 58 drivers. This is quite a big amount, I would say.”

“We are doing a lot of screening tests and a lot of cases come from traffic [police] control. We also get tips from the public.”

The filmed traffic police tests in Mikkeli were carried out in both directions of a popular 60km/hour highway, in sub-zero degree temperatures. The results of the test day operation are still to be made public.

In Finland the authorities have access to a database of a driver’s income, with fines proportionate to the income of the offender.

Similar anti-drink drive traffic police operations are continuing all across Europe throughout the month of December into early January 2014.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • More driver licence screening for UK?
    April 25, 2012
    Anomalies regarding the return of driving licenses to people found guilty of serious driving offences have been uncovered in the UK. In a number of instances, these drivers have then gone on to commit more driving offences and in at least two cases, causing fatalities.
  • Police call fortougher alcohol limits for UK drivers
    May 20, 2015
    The British Police Federation calling for the blood alcohol limit to be lowered. This call has also been backed by the campaigning road safety charity, Brake as well as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA). Evidence from Scotland where the drink driving limit was lowered during 2014 has shown a reduction in drink driving offences. This move would bring the UK into line with other European countries with regard to alcohol limits by reducing the level from the current 80mg/100ml of blood
  • Pan-European police actions tackles road safety
    September 18, 2014
    TISPOL operations focusing on truck and bus safety across Europe have yielded major safety benefits, as well as tackling criminal offences. The police work targeting trucks led to the discovery of nearly 1,200 illegal immigration and human trafficking offences. The action followed checks on nearly 140,000 trucks across 27 countries. A total of 44,859 offences were detected, including 421 drivers charged with alcohol and drug offences, 5,054 offences of exceeding the speed limit and 5,074 instances of driver
  • Pan-European crackdown on speeding
    August 17, 2015
    A pan-European police campaign tackling speeding is intended to boost road safety. The operation has been organised by the European Traffic Police Network, TISPOL. The move has seen the use of a variety of technologies and methods to enforce speed limits. The aim of the campaign has been to bring home the message to drivers that speeding increases the risk of serious crashes. Research suggests that excessive speed is a factor in one third of vehicle crashes and is the single largest contributory factor to r