Drugs, accidents and chaos: head-on crash in Althütte shaken!

Drugs, accidents and chaos: head-on crash in Althütte shaken!

Speedy driving and drug use have led to several serious traffic accidents in the region in recent days. On Saturday afternoon there was an expensive head-on collision between a Mercedes Sprinter and a Mercedes C-Class in Althütte. According to the reports of Stuttgart News Both vehicles were on the district road between Lippoldsweiler and Althütte-Sechselberg when, for unknown reasons, they pushed too far into the middle of the road and ultimately left the road.

Both drivers, a 25-year-old in the Sprinter and a 36-year-old in the C-Class, were lucky and remained uninjured. But the impact caused significant damage to both vehicles, meaning they had to be towed away. The police found evidence of drug use by the sprinter driver, who then had to take a blood sample and surrender his driver's license.

Serious accident on the B14

A few hours later, on Sunday evening, there was another incident on federal highway 14 near Waldrems. According to the Swabian Post A 34-year-old lost control of his Skoda while driving from Stuttgart to Backnang. At 9:50 p.m., the driver overestimated his speed and failed to react in time when his vehicle first veered slightly to the right and then skidded across the street, hitting several guide posts and traffic signs.

The car eventually crossed an embankment and stopped in a furniture store parking lot. The driver suffered serious injuries and had to be taken to hospital. Here too, the police took a blood sample and took away the driver's driver's license. The estimated property damage is around 35,000 euros, and investigations into endangering road traffic under the influence of intoxicants have been initiated.

Drugs in traffic

These incidents highlight the growing problem of drugged driving, which is also reaching alarming proportions in Austria. A dark field study by the Board of Trustees for Road Safety (KFV) shows that around 250,000 people drove a vehicle under the influence of drugs in 2023. What is interesting is that only about 8,676 reports of drug driving were filed, which represents only 3% of the estimated cases, according to the KFV report from 2024 emerges.

There is a significant need for action to improve drug detection; Appropriate equipment and processes should be implemented to efficiently remove more drug traffickers. The recommendations are based on European models and are intended to help ensure that dangerous events such as the recent accidents in Althütte and Waldrems can be avoided in the future.