Gurtenmuffel and Co. – This is how traffic offenders bluff: the most common excuses

“Basically you have to remember: if more checks are carried out, more people will be arrested. The fact that there were more or fewer reports does not mean that there were more or fewer traffic offenders in the past year,” said Colonel Adolf Winkler, head of the Carinthian State Transport Service, in an interview with the “Krone”. The fact is: in 2023, with 594,274 caught speeding offenders, 20,072 more speeding violations were reported than in 2022.

“It always amazes me how people simply accept the sometimes high fines. There appear to be sufficient financial resources for this,” says Winkler. The standard justifications: “I was in a hurry”; “I didn’t even notice I was going too fast.” Drivers are also noticeably careless when it comes to fastening their seat belts: in 2023, 6,233 people were caught not wearing their seat belts – 1,238 more than in 2022.

“Most people just want to forget about it. Every now and then there are people who cannot wear a seat belt for medical reasons. But what I find worst is the 589 ads due to lack of parental controls. I don’t understand that: children’s lives are being put at risk.” This is also the reason for the ongoing special campaigns for kindergartens and schools.

Nine more deaths
The number of drug drivers has decreased slightly to 3,150 reports, but more drug drivers (246) have been reported to the Carinthian uniformed police. Sad: A total of 21 people died in traffic in 2023. An increase of nine deaths.