by EH
In an overnight crackdown aimed at curbing alcohol and drug-impaired driving, law enforcement in Trieste launched a sweeping operation late Friday, conducting roadside checks that continued into the early hours of Saturday morning.
The large-scale initiative, ordered by Trieste’s police commissioner, mobilized officers from the Traffic Police, Local Police, and a specialized medical team from the State Police. Their objective: to identify and penalize drivers under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, a persistent issue on Italy’s roads.
Along key arteries leading from Trieste to the highway network, authorities set up checkpoints where drivers underwent breathalyzer tests and screenings for illicit substances. A total of 78 motorists were stopped, leading to three cases of blood alcohol levels exceeding the legal limit, officials said.
Two of those violations involved drivers registering alcohol concentrations between 0.51 and 0.8 grams per liter of blood, while a third case exceeded 0.81 grams per liter, triggering stricter penalties. In all, three licenses were revoked, and 45 demerit points were deducted under Italy’s driving regulations. Authorities also issued six additional citations for separate traffic infractions.
Despite widespread testing, no drivers tested positive for drugs in preliminary screenings, which were conducted through rapid saliva swabs analyzed on-site using a police-issued drug testing device, officials said.
Police framed the operation as a preventative measure rather than a punitive one. “We are not looking to compile a record of reckless behavior, but to reinforce public awareness of the dangers,” a spokesperson for the Traffic Police said in a statement.
Driving under the influence, officials warned, severely compromises cognitive and motor skills, slowing reaction times, impairing depth perception, and restricting peripheral vision.
“The message is simple: drinking and driving is a dangerous combination,” the statement continued. “Safety is not optional. It is a responsibility.”
