Riga Raids Catch Drunk Drivers, Including a Woman With a Child in the Car
Police and vehicle inspectors in Riga detained six drunk drivers and removed number plates from six vehicles. One intoxicated driver had a small child in the car.
Large-scale checks by the State Police and the Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD) took place simultaneously in Riga, on Noliktavas, Citadeles and Krišjāņa Valdemāra streets. Within a few hours, officers found several violations: some motorists were driving under the influence, while certain vehicles were in such poor technical condition that they endangered road safety. The raids were reported by the 360TV programme “Sadursme 360”.
Driving under the influence
The State Police in Riga checked more than 5,500 cars and detained six drunk drivers. The programme observed that among those caught was a Volvo driver who admitted he had already been caught driving intoxicated before and had only recently regained his licence. This time he faces a considerably longer ban and a substantial fine.
An even more serious case involved a Nissan Juke: the car was driven by a woman under the influence of alcohol, with a small child in the vehicle.
Technical defects
During the CSDD checks, 10 cars had their technical inspection annulled, and 6 cars had their registration plates removed because dangerous defects were found and they were not allowed to continue driving.
One of the stopped cars had a modified exhaust system, a so-called “straight pipe”. The noise it produced exceeded 100 decibels, although the permitted limit is 85 decibels. The car also lacked a left turn signal and had a damaged bumper. Another vehicle was found in the rain with completely worn tyres with dangerous bulges on the surface.
