The enforcement efforts of the police with regard to driving under the influence of alcohol have improved greatly in the whole of Europe in the last few years.
The use of instrumentation such as the "alco-tester" (breathalyser) gives a police officer the possibility in a short space of time to accurately establish whether a driver has drunk too much to be in charge of a vehicle. In some countries this instrument is part of the standard equipment in a surveillance vehicle. In a number of countries these instruments are used if possible at the scene of serious road traffic accidents (with injury) to breathalyse the drivers involved.

Counteraction of driving under the influence of alcohol has been carried out successfully by the police in the last few years.

Frequent checks are carried out in the location of bar and club areas. Main roads leading to the motorways are partly blocked off and the through traffic is subjected to alcohol checks.

Due to frequent announcements via the media, the public is warned and the acceptance of such a form of alcohol control is greater.

Units varying in size from 4 to 20 police personnel carry out alcohol checks. On a regular basis co-ordinated checks are carried out on a large scale in a city, province or the whole country. One must remember that this entails the involvement of 100 to 300 or more police officers.

All the locations are carefully selected. The carrying out of such checks requires a great deal of logistic support. To ensure the safety of the officer carrying out the check and the vehicle used in the check, it is preferable to use a well-lit location (close to street lighting), that it is cordoned off and there is enough space to carry out the checks allowing the vehicles to drive off safely. The officers involved in the check should wear reflective clothing. If the check is carried out in a professional manner, many problems can be prevented.

To carry out an alcohol check effectively, it is advisable to concentrate on the alcohol and drugs test and not on other matters such as a technical check on the vehicle. In this way many drivers can be controlled and such a check has the most effect.

 A breath analysis instrument should be available and operational 24 hours a day at a police station. With this instrument the exact amount of alcohol in a driver’s blood can be established without the intervention of a doctor. The result is printed out and is added to the evidence in the official report

Co-ordination is desired if preventative campaigns are to be organised on a national, provincial or a county level. Preventative attention is brought through advertising on television or radio and on posters at the side of the road. In this way attention is brought through the media to these police checks. This generates sufficient attention to the problem and in several countries has led to a decrease in the alcohol consumption by drivers. The combination of prevention and enforcement has been applied with success.