In order to prevent any form of illegality during these days of celebration between the anniversaries of April 25th and May 1st, the provincial Carabinieri command of Catania has established an extraordinary control plan throughout the entire Etna area to protect citizens and tourists present in our province. Maximum attention to the areas of greatest aggregation, to commercial areas and parks, to churches, cultural sites and entertainment venues, but also to metro stations, bus stops and all places of aggregation. The central and peripheral areas of the various municipalities will be monitored by foot patrols, soldiers on board service cars, motorbikes and in plain clothes. Particular attention will then also be paid to the access areas to the piedmont and seaside locations. In this context, for more than a week, the strengthening plan also includes support for colleagues from Catania of the mounted regiment, based in Rome. This is an initiative promoted by the provincial command of Catania to strengthen the safety of citizens in the areas of the historic center, the seafront and city parks.
Controls against driving while intoxicated
There was also no shortage of checks related to drunk driving. The soldiers of the mobile radio unit carried out checkpoints along the main city road arteries and at the road junctions that connect the city to the piedmont villages. A total of 4 motorists were fined for testing positive for alcohol. The youngest of the sanctioned drivers was a 23-year-old from Biancaville who, during a check carried out at 3 am, was stopped while he was aboard a large-engined car, which had been noticed speeding through the streets of the center of Catania. When the soldiers asked him to get out of the vehicle, the young man was staggering and couldn’t even express himself correctly because his mouth was “stuffed”, as usually happens to those who abuse alcohol. The breathalyzer confirmed what the police had already understood: the boy had a blood alcohol level of 0.99 grams per litre, i.e. higher than the threshold of 0.8 g/l set by the highway code and, for this reason, he was been reported to the judicial authorities. His car was entrusted to the friend who was traveling with him, who had not drunk alcohol. The 21-year-old was also fined for driving without a license because, despite having obtained one, he did not have it with him. Same script for a girl from Catania residing in San Giovanni la Punta, who had been driving her small car with a blood alcohol level of 1.06 g/l, and for two men aged 50 and 55, who were subjected to similar tests investigations. In particular, the 50-year-old from Catania, unemployed and with a police record, had driven his Fiat Punto and zigzagged along state road 114 towards Syracuse. Immediately stopped, he gave off a strong smell of alcohol and in fact had a blood alcohol level of 2.33 grams per litre. Furthermore, he did not have a driving license because it had already been revoked in 2021, so he was subjected to a further sanction. Finally, a 55-year-old resident of Pedara was checked by the police while he was inside the port of Catania and was driving a van. When he opened the window to speak to the operators who had stopped him, the smell of alcohol was immediately perceived by the soldiers, who immediately subjected him to tests with a breathalyzer: he had a blood alcohol level of 2.80 g / L.
Maximum attention also on May 1st
In the last month, more than 40 drivers have been subjected to alcohol tests, of which 8 were driving with a blood alcohol level higher than the legal limit. Instead, 4 of them had a rate lower than 0.5 g/l and were only administratively sanctioned for an amount of 164 euros each, with the loss of 5 points from their driving license. The checks will also continue on May 1st, when the helicopter unit will also be in action to monitor the busiest areas from above, in addition to the motorcyclists and the mounted police unit.
