A bus driver was stopped at the Campos del Río service area close to Murcia who was almost doubled the maximum permitted alcohol level in his blood. He had 54 children between the ages of 3 and 4 on board at the time along with 4 supervisors.
The Guardia Civil was alerted by the Local Police who had been told by several witnesses that the driver had been seen drinking alcohol prior to leaving with the children on board.
Traffico positioned two patrols along the route and pulled him onto the hard shoulder at kilometre 9,500 of the RM-15 motorway. He was then escorted to the Venta Alegría Service Area in the municipality of Campos del Río where he was subjected to mandatory blood alcohol tests.
He yielded a positive result of 0.25 and 0.22 milligrams of alcohol per litre of expired air, almost twice the maximum rate allowed , which in the case of professional drivers is 0.15 mg / litre.
The 38 year old driver, a resident of Caravaca de la Cruz, was reported to the Provincial Traffic Headquarters for driving with an excessive alcohol rate, which carries a fine of 500 euros and the loss of 4 points on his driving license.
The bus was immobilised in an authorized area of the Service Area while a replacement driver could be found.
This was the second occasion that the same driver had tested positive in recent months. The previous occasion, when he was driving a minibus with 17 passengers on board, was in early December when he was also double the maximum limit.
