Foreign visitors appear to be more likely to take unnecessary and dangerous risks while driving in Iceland. While some of these decisions are understandable, for example because foreign drivers are unfamiliar with Icelandic roads and do not recognize the risks, or they are simply distracted by the scenery, other examples of dangerous (and criminal) risk-taking is less understandable. The high number of foreign visitors who decide to drive drunk is an example.
Cultural factors could play a role
So far this year the Metropolitan Police has cited 670 people for drunk driving, and stopped an additional 1,135 people suspected of driving while under the influence of alcohol or other substances. The vast majority of these drivers, or 60% are younger than 31. Another group which is overrepresented in the statistics are foreign nationals. 40% of those who were cited for drunk driving were foreign nationals.
Read more: Foreign travellers lack the experience to drive in Icelandic conditions, fail to use seatbelts
Helgi Gunnlaugsson, a professor of criminology at the University of Iceland told the local newspaper Morgunblaðið that it is not known how many of those foreign nationals are tourists, as the Police has not made data on the resident status of the offenders. Some of the drunk drivers are probably immigrants or guest workers, Helgi points out, since 12% of the population of Iceland is foreign born. But foreign travelers are very well represented in the group.
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Foreign travalers make up at most 10-20% of drivers on Icelandic roads. In the Metropolitan Area this figure is significantly lower. More data and studies are needed, but taken together the figures suggest that foreign travelers are very much overrepresented when it comes to drunk driving.
Helgi says it could well be that cultural factors play a role. The cultural norm here, and in other Scandinavian countries, is that you do not drive after having had a drink, but the threshold is different in many other countries. In some countries people do not see drinking and driving as a big deal. He mentions the US and countries in South and Eastern Europe as examples of places where attitudes to drinking are different than in Iceland.
Foreign visitors appear to be more likely to take unnecessary and dangerous risks while driving in Iceland. While some of these decisions are understandable, for example because foreign drivers are unfamiliar with Icelandic roads and do not recognize the risks, or they are simply distracted by the scenery, other examples of dangerous (and criminal) risk-taking is less understandable. The high number of foreign visitors who decide to drive drunk is an example.
Cultural factors could play a role
So far this year the Metropolitan Police has cited 670 people for drunk driving, and stopped an additional 1,135 people suspected of driving while under the influence of alcohol or other substances. The vast majority of these drivers, or 60% are younger than 31. Another group which is overrepresented in the statistics are foreign nationals. 40% of those who were cited for drunk driving were foreign nationals.
Read more: Foreign travellers lack the experience to drive in Icelandic conditions, fail to use seatbelts
Helgi Gunnlaugsson, a professor of criminology at the University of Iceland told the local newspaper Morgunblaðið that it is not known how many of those foreign nationals are tourists, as the Police has not made data on the resident status of the offenders. Some of the drunk drivers are probably immigrants or guest workers, Helgi points out, since 12% of the population of Iceland is foreign born. But foreign travelers are very well represented in the group.
Read more: This is how accidents happen: Video shows rental car repeatedly swerve into wrong lane
Foreign travalers make up at most 10-20% of drivers on Icelandic roads. In the Metropolitan Area this figure is significantly lower. More data and studies are needed, but taken together the figures suggest that foreign travelers are very much overrepresented when it comes to drunk driving.
Helgi says it could well be that cultural factors play a role. The cultural norm here, and in other Scandinavian countries, is that you do not drive after having had a drink, but the threshold is different in many other countries. In some countries people do not see drinking and driving as a big deal. He mentions the US and countries in South and Eastern Europe as examples of places where attitudes to drinking are different than in Iceland.
