State police transport department chief Normunds Krapsis told the Rīta Panorama news show on LTV that so far during the Christmas holidays 56 drunk drivers had been apprehended, compared to 86 during the same period last year, but with similar numbers of checks performed.
On the evening Panorama news show of December 26, drivers waiting to enter Riga were being held for spot-checks on main roads into the city. Most said they approved of the measures, despite the delays to their journeys, in order to tackle a culture of drinking behind the wheel that used to be rife.
However, one irresponsible driver bucked the trend spectacularly over the Christmas period on December 20. The driver of a heavy good vehicle was arrested by Riga municipal police and highway patrolmen and found to have 3.41 promiles of blood alcohol, more than six times the legal limit.
