Dancing your lungs out at a festival, little or no sleep and the next day intoxicated get behind the wheel. A Christmas party that got out of hand or a dinner with friends. Whatever the reason, more and more people are driving under the influence, according to figures from the Foundation for Road Safety Research (SWOV). Forty thousand drivers were caught by the police last year with an excessive concentration of alcohol or narcotics – the highest number in ten years.
Drunk drivers are more likely to hit the road at the weekend, SWOV sees: a doubling in five years to 2.6 percent in 2022. The number of novice drivers with an alcohol offense has also risen sharply in the past four years: from 2.3 percent in 2019 to 3.7 percent in 2022. Serious alcohol violations, where a driver has drunk at least six to seven glasses, rose from 0.1 percent to 0.6 percent between 2017 and 2022.
Although there were more road deaths in 2022, it is unknown whether the increased alcohol consumption is the direct cause, says research institute SWOV. The police do not always check for alcohol or drugs in the event of an accident. However, the risk of accidents increases “exponentially” with every extra glass of alcohol, says Ivo Brons of Veilig Verkeer Nederland (VVN).
According to Sander van der Kint, researcher into alcohol use in traffic at SWOV, the main cause of the increase is the ‘subjective risk of being caught’: nowadays people consider the chance of being caught to be less. The police carry out large-scale checks less often, because motorists are said to warn each other on social media. Nevertheless, ‘a trap’ remains an effective measure, says Van der Kint. “It is precisely what you want people to tip each other off. If people think they might be being checked, they think: maybe I shouldn’t drive.”
That people tip each other is exactly what you want
Sander van der Kint SWOV
Almost 40 percent of the drivers who drove under the influence and were fined in 2022 had used drugs: about 15,000 drivers. National campaigns against drug use in traffic are still lacking. Knowledge center Team Alert, which informs young people about drugs at festivals and schools, says it has seen an increase in drug use among young people after corona.
Also read this edition of The Session: ‘You are not the neatest road user’
Yet young people think that the ‘popping urge’ has not changed their driving behaviour. In a survey conducted by Team Alert among nearly four hundred young people, they say they are no more likely to get behind the wheel under the influence than in the past. Since March, a behavior course has been mandatory for drivers caught with drugs in traffic.
It is not the case that young people drive under the influence more often than other age groups, says police spokesman Bobby Markus. “People in their forties and fifties also get behind the wheel after a meal. ‘It was just a small piece’ or ‘Or I won’t go on the highway’ you hear.”
Veilig Verkeer Nederland advocates an alcolock and a total ban on alcohol consumption before driving. Ivo Brons of VVN: “Confusion arises when people start calculating: can I drink another one if I take a break? Clarity is best. Just don’t drink before you get in the car.”
The police, on the other hand, cite more prevention of drug use as an important measure. “With alcohol, we now find it normal to address each other if you are still driving,” says police spokesman Markus. “With drugs there is more ignorance. People often do not know that a pill still has an effect the next day.”
Also read this article: ‘I thought you could smoke pot behind the wheel’
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of May 16, 2023.