Kto ky jestes! Stirling Moss? Poles are warned on flouting drink drive laws

Published on Monday 22 December 2008 21:02

POLICE forces in Scotland have reissued their annual drink-drive warnings – this time in Polish.

Officers acted after finding that, in some areas of the country, one in ten drink-drivers caught is from Poland or elsewhere in eastern Europe.

An increase in migrant workers and the higher maximum alcohol limit in the UK than elsewhere are seen as possible factors.

Central Scotland Police said east European drivers figured disproportionately among those found to be over the limit in the annual festive campaign.

It said four of the 43 drivers caught were Polish.

Both the Tayside and the Lothian and Borders forces also reported they had detected a significant number of such drivers.

Tayside Police said one of the ten drivers testing positive in the first week of the campaign this month was Polish, while one of the 14 drivers in the second week was Slovakian.

Several forces' patrol vehicles carry phrase books in various languages, while warnings about drink driving have been issued to east European publications in Scotland.

In Tayside, special leaflets and posters with information about drink driving, speeding and seat belt laws have now been produced for migrant workers such as vegetable pickers and hotel staff.

Chief Inspector Donald McMillan, the head of road policing for Central Scotland Police, said some Poles were flouting the law in Scotland despite stricter limits at home.

He said: "In recent weeks, a number of Polish nationals have been caught drinking and driving within the Central Scotland Police area as they are obviously unaware of the limits here – 35 micrograms of breath or 80 milligrams of blood."

The limit in Poland is 20 milligrams.

Mr McMillan said: "I am angered that the message we are trying to put out has been ignored. There is a complete disregard for the advice we are giving. The problem is that back home it is not cracked down on so much and they are willing to take the chance that they won't be caught.

"Overall, around 6 per cent of drunk drivers caught in our area are foreign – that is a massive over-representation."

Tayside Police said east European drivers caught drink driving often gave very high readings.

Chief Inspector Sandy Bowman said: "There are a number of people driving on our roads who do not heed road traffic law. Among them are certain drivers from overseas – noticeably eastern Europe – who are either unaware of, or who have a blatant disregard for, our road traffic laws, particularly in relation to drinking and driving.

"People who have recently arrived in Scotland from overseas are being detected on an almost weekly basis whilst over the drink drive limit. Very often they are far in excess of that limit."

Police said the total number of drink and drug drivers caught in the second week of their festive campaign was 184, down by 51 on the same period last year. They included 11 in the Highlands, compared with 18 in 2007.

Assistant Chief Constable Jim Green of Strathclyde Police, the road policing secretary for the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, said there was no room for complacency.

He said: "The numbers may be down on last year but they remain unacceptably high across the country."

Mr Green said people were more willing than ever to alert police to suspected drink drivers – including half those detected in Tayside.

&#149 A Polish driver appeared in court yesterday charged with smashing into a pub while over the drink drive limit and injuring a man.

Rafal Wnuk, 35, a welder, denied losing control of his car and crashing into the Foundry Bar in Aberdeen on Saturday night.

BACKGROUND

POLAND has one of the highest road death rates in Europe, partially fuelled by drink-driving.

Observers said the practice had become a deeply-ingrained tradition in the country, especially as drink-drivers had had little chance of being caught in the past.

Matthew Day, a journalist based in Warsaw, said: "The problem is worst at holiday times, when families gather for big celebrations and then they pile back into their cars to drive home. Only recently have police started crackdowns, but they have found it very difficult to tackle."