Wallonia’s traffic authorities are calling for tough sanctions against people driving under the influence of both alcohol and drugs following a study by the Walloon Road Safety Agency, AWSR, which shows that close to 5% of the region’s drivers have already done so. The study shows that, where driving is concerned, the alcohol/drugs combination is the most dangerous one, increasing the risk of a serious or fatal accident by 20 to 200 times.
Driving under the influence of cannabis and alcohol, for example, increases the risk of involvement in a serious accident by 100 times, the office of Wallonia’s Minister for Road Safety, Carlo Di Antonio, and the AWSR noted in a joint press release on Thursday.
The two institutions called for tough sanctions, like those imposed abroad. They cited the example of France, where there is a specific penalty for driving under the influence of both drugs and alcohol. In such cases, drivers there face three years in prison plus a fine of 9,000 euros, as against two years in jail and a fine of 4,500 euros if you are under the influence of drugs alone, the press release stated.
The Brussels Times
