More and more drug drivers also in Tyrol: Taxi drivers in Innsbruck pulled out of traffic
The number of drug-driving complaints is increasing. This year, more than 500 drivers have been caught under the influence of drugs.
For one passenger, the taxi ride ends with a walk. Your chauffeur had to hand over the driver’s license.
© Photo TT / Rudy De Moor
By Thomas Hörmann
Innsbruck – Smoked and whipped up by cocaine at the wheel of a taxi: a combination that has unpleasant consequences for the 28-year-old driver – his driver’s license has been in police custody since Sunday morning. The fact that there was a female passenger in his taxi didn’t improve the situation. Now the taxi driver WILL look for another job for the near future. When. Not an isolated case – the number of drug users caught is increasing.
The 28-year-old was blown because he drove into an intersection on Amraser Strasse in Innsbruck at around 8:30 a.m. despite the yellow traffic lights. And that in front of two officers from the state traffic department who were on a civil patrol. “The officers stopped the taxi driver and carried out a drug test,” says Enrico Leitgeb, deputy. Head of the regional transport department. The result was unequivocal – a loud police report indicated “highly positive levels of cocaine and THC” (active ingredient in cannabis; note). That was the end of the taxi driver’s working day. The medical officer is also delighted that the 28-year-old was no longer fit to drive. His passenger was also not very happy with the situation: “At first she protested against the traffic control,” says Leitgeb: “The police officers’ offer to call another taxi was rejected and she continued on foot.”
The taxi driver was one of eight drivers who were caught behind the wheel with drugs in their blood over the weekend. “The number of such offenses is increasing,” confirms Leitgeb. “This year we have already determined that 511 drivers are unfit to drive due to drugs by the end of November, 418 in the entire previous year.” If the result was negative, the driver could continue driving. “The officers are specially trained to identify symptoms of prohibited consumption . “And that has an impact on the statistics,” continued Leitgeb.