The GNR’s Operation Natal Tranquilo registered 750 accidents and one fatality. The number of accidents was 126 more than the same four days last year but there were six fewer deaths.
Operation Natal Tranquilo took place between December 23rd and 26th with the GNR reporting that eight people were seriously injured, 12 fewer than last year and 240 suffered minor injuries, down 44.
Many of the nation’s car drivers were hauled over for the same old offences.
Over the four day Christmas break, 2,816 people were done for speeding, 171 for using their mobile phones while tootling along, 161 for not bothering to use their seatbelts and 143 for driving while drunk.
Of the drunk drivers, 91 were arrested for having a blood alcohol level equal to or greater than 1.2 grams per litre. It is a crime to be quite this drunk while trying to negotiate Portugal’s road system.
The GNR insists that its Christmas operation is to prevent accidents, to ensure the traffic flows smoothly and to support road users in having a good trip.
