Pedestrians Face Drink Tests Abroad

Brits abroad may need to take more care when staggering back to the hotel, as Spain are considering on the spot alcohol tests for any pedestrian involved in a road traffic incident.

Under the scheme, pedestrians would be reclassified as ‘users of the road’ and therefore would have the same safety responsibilities to other road users as motorists.

Critics have suggested that the move is tantamount to criminalising pedestrians, when in fact they are often the victims of road accidents.

Maria Segui Gomes, leader of opposition group La Red de Ciudades que Caminan, said: “Municipal police have been carrying out these tests for months – there is nothing new here that will allow us to start sanctioning pedestrians, whether economically or with penalty points.”

A 2011 study published in the Journal of Trauma found 55 per cent of walkers under the influence of alcohol ignored pedestrian crossings, compared to just 22 per cent of sober ones.

According to Department of Transport figures, one pedestrian in seven injured on the roads in Britain is drunk at the time.

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