Drug drivers on the A10: The police pull several drivers out of circulation!

Drug drivers on the A10: The police pull several drivers out of circulation!

On May 27, 2025, the police carried out extensive checks on the A10 Tauernautobahn near Salzburg, in which several drivers were pulled out of traffic due to drug impairment. These measures are part of a continuous attempt to make the streets safer and better recognize drug drivers.

A total of four cases of drivers that were under the influence of drugs were found in the course of controls. The first case concerned a 35-year-old Salzburg who was traveling in snake lines and had no driver's license. A drug test was positively for cannabis, and 26 grams of cannabis herb in the car were secured. The driver refused to investigate the explosive doctor and was displayed.

Various violations on the motorway

Another case included a 30-year-old Salzburg who was on a practice trip and also showed an uncertain driving style. The police found a drug test with him that reacted positively to cannabis, amphetamines and opiates. The jumping doctor declared him suitable for driving, whereupon his accompanying person took over the vehicle. He had to hand in his exercise notice and it was displayed.

A 25-year-old man from Bruck was stopped under drug use and classified as compatible with driving. He also received an advertisement. The fourth case concerned a 47-year-old Bosnian from Radstadt, who was also traveling without a driver's license. An advertisement also suffered from him, and he was not allowed to continue.

In addition to the drug controls, technical controls were carried out on May 26, 2025 at the Kuchl control center at 28 vehicles. Two vehicles were not roadworthy, three were only to a limited extent. In total, 35 ads were reimbursed and five organ mandates were issued, with the most striking defects being powerful conversions.

alcohol and speed violations

But the complaints were not only limited to drugs. On November 10, a 42-year-old Croatian was stopped on the A10 in Flachau, which exceeded the top speed in the construction site area by 62 km/h. In addition, the police stopped a 36-year-old Bosnian who was 52 km/h too fast. Both drivers had to answer in front of the responsible district administration, and the Bosnian also deposited a security deposit.

A worrying trend shows in the numbers of the dark field study of the Board of Trustees for Road Safety (KFV): In 2023, around 250,000 people steered a vehicle under the influence of drugs. This is in stark contrast to the only 8,676 advertisements due to drugsticks, which only corresponds to about three percent of the estimated cases. There is an urgent need for action in order to pull drug drivers more effectively out of traffic, according to the KFV.

The police will continue to increase such controls in the future to combat both drug and alcohol abuse in road traffic and increase safety on the streets. Suitable devices and processes are urgently needed for a permanent improvement in the field of drug detection in order to counter the high number of drugs of drug drivers more effectively.

For more information on this topic, you can read the reports of [5min] and [SN] as well as the study of the [KFV].