Action in St. Pölten

Interior Minister Karner hunted down drug drivers

The supreme head of the executive was present at a planned square in the provincial capital. A lot has recently been invested in police training and equipment in order to be equipped in the fight against drugged driving. Are these measures proving successful?

"Drug-impaired drivers must be taken off the road!" The Interior Minister's motto is crystal clear. During a local inspection in St. Pölten, Gerhard Karner spoke directly with police officers who are on the lookout for drugged drivers.

The officers demonstrated to the Minister how the hunt for drug drivers is conducted.(Bild: BMI/Karl Schober)

During a local inspection in St. Pölten, Karner learned about drug checks in road traffic.(Bild: BMI/Karl Schober)

Specialists in action 
Such focus campaigns take place several times a month in all regions of the country. "We have increasingly trained specialists for this in recent years," explains the Minister. In Lower Austria, 370 of these specially trained "drug hunters" are on standby, and each district also has at least one drug pre-test device that is used in the planned squares. "There is a pool of 33 contract doctors for the medical examination of suspects," says Karner. If police officers suspect a driver of drug use, a preliminary test and assessment by a doctor follow. If the doctor confirms the suspicion, a blood test follows - and finally the driver's license is revoked.

The police specialists for detecting drug drivers make an important contribution to safety on the roads in Austria.

Innenminister Gerhard Karner

More checks, more suspects
Investments in training and equipment for officers are having an effect: in five years, the number of drugged drivers reported in Lower Austria has risen by almost 70 percent to 1,854 last year. Karner emphasizes: "This confirms our measures."