‘After-covid effect’
Man turns out to be tough. In the first ten months of this year, more motorists were caught driving under the influence than last year. Indeed, not just more than in the first ten months of 2021, but more than in that entire year.
Up to and including October this year, the police issued more than 36,000 fines for driving under the influence, ANP reports on the basis of an analysis of police figures. In ten months, more fines have already been issued for driving under the influence than in the whole of 2021 (31,600).
‘Yes, but 2021 was a corona year and so we went out less often’ – we hear you think. But also in the last year before corona (2019), with 32,000 fines issued, fewer fines were issued for driving under the influence than in the first ten months of this year. It’s not just about driving under the influence of alcohol. Driving under the influence of drugs, medicines or drivers who refused an alcohol test are also included in the figures. About one-third of the cases involved drivers under the age of 25.
Alcohol institute STAP says it does not know exactly why more people started driving under the influence. STAP speaks of a possible ‘after-covid effect’. “People could not go out for a long time, it is possible that people want to make up for that time. We also see, for example, that alcohol consumption among young people has not decreased at all,” said a spokesperson for STAP. Police say they have stopped checking.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl