Under 40-year-olds

More and more drivers are under the influence of drugs

901 alcohol and 158 drug drivers were stopped in 2024 - charges filed!

(Bild: Christian Schulter)

Increasing road safety and significantly reducing the number of accidents - the police are pursuing a clear goal with all kinds of measures supported by the state. One alarming detail in the 2024 balance sheet: among drivers under 40, alcohol and drugs already account for 50 percent each.

Excessive speed, alcohol and drugs, distracted driving with a cell phone, tailgating - the main causes of accidents on Burgenland's roads have not changed. There were 16 fatalities last year, compared to 21 in 2023. The executive is sticking to the nationwide planned squares. In 2024, more than 39,000 hours of speed checks and 2360 hours of distance checks were carried out.

65 municipalities requested mobile radar monitoring from the state in 2024. The effect is great, the feedback is nothing but positive.

Landesrat Heinrich Dorner

Almost 200,000 drivers reported
198,811 reports and 22,184 organ mandates caught speeders. 6.6 million cars were registered using radar equipment at the province's own monitoring points and 93,756 reports were issued. "1.43 percent of vehicles were speeding. That may not seem like much, but the number of cases is high," points out Regional Transport Councillor Heinrich Dorner. One of many extreme examples: In the 30 km/h zone near a school, a speeding driver was measured at 86 km/h!

244 km/h in Schützen
"The radar monitoring requested by municipalities is effective and helps to reduce the dangers in the long term," says Dorner. 15 vehicles were confiscated for speeding. The inglorious record holder was a British holidaymaker who was "flashed" at 244 km/h in a sports car on the Schützen bypass.

858 road accidents occurred last year, compared to 823 in 2023. 16 fatalities were reported. Our aim is to increase safety.

Martin Huber, Landespolizeidirektor

Driving under the influence of drugs
The fight against drunk driving continues unabated. 2024 charges were filed against 901 drunk drivers. Ten of these were for e-scooter users and a further 17 were for intoxicated cyclists. The number of accidents involving alcohol rose by 1.4 percent. At the same time, more and more drivers are getting "high" behind the wheel. 158 cases had to be reported due to the consumption of addictive substances.

The police also took strict action against speeders.

(Bild: Patrick Huber)

Training on narcotics.
It is striking that the proportion of alcohol and drug drivers among the under-40s is already balanced! The police are reacting to this shocking trend. "During training, 15 officers are currently being specially trained to be able to quickly recognize any drug use," says Colonel Andreas Stipsits, Head of the Provincial Traffic Department. In addition, saliva testing devices will be used more frequently in future.

Alcohol and narcotics drivers each account for 50 percent of drivers up to the age of 40. We are training officers to recognize drug use.

Andreas Stipsits, Leiter der Landesverkehrsabteilung

The first planned square following the current traffic report is scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday. Forces from the provincial traffic department as well as officers from all district police commands and the Eisenstadt municipal police command will increase their presence. The police have worked 19,978 hours on alcohol checks and 32,796 hours on heavy traffic checks.