Almost half of fatal road crashes in 2018 involved drivers taking drugs or alcohol

MORE THAN 43 per cent of 2018’s fatal road accidents in Spain involved a driver who was drunk or had taken drugs, according to figures from a Spanish government body.

The National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences (INTCF) found the proportion of accidents involving drugs or alcohol was the highest since 2012.

A total of 1,806 people died on Spanish roads last year, 24 less than in 2017 and the first decline since 2013.

Data showed 94.4 per cent of those who tested positive for drugs or alcohol intake at the wheel were men.

A total of 65.7 per cent were aged between 25 and 54 years old. Around 56 per cent drove cars compared to 31.4 per cent who were riding motorcycles or scooters.

Most of the cases, 61.2 per cent, involved alcohol. Drugs were involved in 44 per cent of all cases while a quarter involved medication.

INTCF figures showed 38.5 per cent of the 143 pedestrians killed tested positive for alcohol of drugs.