Seventeen persons were caught driving under the influence of alcohol on the first day of the White Nights operation that was extended to cover all the weekdays, not only the weekend. They were given breath tests. The amount of alcohol in their blood is yet to be determined. The National Patrolling Inspectorate decided to organize this operation nonstop following multiple fatal road accidents caused by inebriated drivers, IPN reports.

According to a communiqué from the Inspectorate, 12 of the 17 motorists suspected of driving under the influence were stopped in the central part of the country, two in the northern districts, while three in the southern districts. Two drivers refused to take the breath test.

The police so far this month drew up reports against about 290 persons who were suspected of driving under the influence.

Two serious traffic accidents happened in Moldova earlier this week. The inebriated driver of a car with seven more persons in it crashed the vehicle into a tree. All of the occupants died. A young woman was killed in another accident in Soroca district. The woman motorist didn’t have a driver’s license.