13,400 Europeans caught drink-driving

Over 850,000 European motorists were checked in the traffic police operation “Tispol Drink and Drug” just in a single week between December 10th and December 16th. The Europe-wide clampdown on drink driving saw police check over drivers in 23 countries by Tispol, the European Traffic Police Network that is co-financed by the European Commission.

The legal alcohol limit for drivers varies from country to country, but the operation caught more than 13,400 motorists with positive drink test. Most drunk drivers are reported to be in France, followed by Spain, Germany and UK. As opposed to them, Denmark, Czech Republic and Norway have less than 100 drunk drivers caught in that week. Most checks were conducted in Spain, twice more than in Germany. But there is disturbing fact, that some 737 gave a positive test to drugs while driving. The biggest number, 299, is in Germany, followed by Sweden, France and Italy.

"The fact that in a single week we caught over 13,000 drink drivers on Europe's roads shows the clear need for operations like this", said TISPOL President Adam Briggs. Around 40,000 people a year are killed on Europe's roads and drink driving is one of the major causes. The European Commission aims to reduce that number with over 50% by the end of this decade.

13,400 Europeans caught drink-driving

Over 850,000 European motorists were checked in the traffic police operation “Tispol Drink and Drug” just in a single week between December 10th and December 16th. The Europe-wide clampdown on drink driving saw police check over drivers in 23 countries by Tispol, the European Traffic Police Network that is co-financed by the European Commission.

The legal alcohol limit for drivers varies from country to country, but the operation caught more than 13,400 motorists with positive drink test. Most drunk drivers are reported to be in France, followed by Spain, Germany and UK. As opposed to them, Denmark, Czech Republic and Norway have less than 100 drunk drivers caught in that week. Most checks were conducted in Spain, twice more than in Germany. But there is disturbing fact, that some 737 gave a positive test to drugs while driving. The biggest number, 299, is in Germany, followed by Sweden, France and Italy.

"The fact that in a single week we caught over 13,000 drink drivers on Europe's roads shows the clear need for operations like this", said TISPOL President Adam Briggs. Around 40,000 people a year are killed on Europe's roads and drink driving is one of the major causes. The European Commission aims to reduce that number with over 50% by the end of this decade.

Restyling for the big Maserati

A more heavily disguised prototype of the 2009 Maserati Quattroporte was caught testing in Sweden this week and the extent of camouflage makes us suspicious of the degree of the Quattroporte's mid-lifecycle freshening.

With this amount of camouflage, it looks as if the complete front end could be revised. The powerful sedan's headlamps look bigger and there will likely be larger air intakes in the car's new front bumper.

Spy photographers were unable to snap shots of the Quattroporte's rear, but the shooter tells us that the rear bumper was also disguised with black tape so expect changes to the Maserati's back end as well.

The next Quattroporte is due in 2012 rivalling the Porsche Panamera and the Aston Martin Rapide.

Related link:

Maserati Quattroporte facelift