Last night the police carried out another massive control on drink-driving at seven different locations. In total 6,000 cars were directed off the main road and their drivers breathalysed. But only 27 of them were cautioned having ‘one for the road’ too many drinks and just five had their licences confiscated. A grand haul indeed for such a major police effort.

The roadside checks are one of a whole cache of weapons the police seem to have developed to make you prove that you are not breaking the law.
In parts of Amsterdam and other places the police can literally seal off an area and search everyone in it – an exercise which has so far netted the odd knife.
The odd thing about these mass stop-and-search operations is that nobody seems to mind. People just pull over, blow into the breathalyser and let a sniffer dog rifle through their boot without ever asking why.
In the Netherlands everyone over the age of 14 is obliged to carry ID. The law was actually introduced as an anti-terrorism measure but has collared thousands of cyclists without lights instead. It is a scam which is generating hundreds of thousands of euros for the treasury. But at least it helps pays for all the police overtime.