SANTA TECLA, El Salvador — More than a thousand drunk drivers have been arrested in El Salvador thus far in 2025, marking a notable decrease compared to the same period last year, according to official data released Monday.
As of July 7, the National Civil Police (PNC) had arrested 1,082 individuals for driving under the influence—131 fewer than the 1,213 arrests reported during the same time frame in 2024.
The figures represent a 10.8% decline, based on records from the National Road Safety Observatory.
Salvadoran authorities attribute the drop in drunk drivers to enhanced highway safety efforts, including vehicle checkpoints and joint operations led by the Vice Ministry of Transportation (VMT) and the Police Land Traffic Directorate.
The measures have resulted in the removal of an average of six intoxicated drivers per day throughout 2025.
Officials state that the ongoing crackdown is part of a larger effort to prevent traffic fatalities and decrease alcohol-related incidents on the nation’s highways.
El Salvador is still struggling with a high number of traffic accidents, and a lot of them involve drunk drivers. By late June 2025, authorities had recorded over 10,000 incidents on the nation’s roads.
This year’s crashes have left 6,387 people hurt and claimed 597 lives, showing just how badly stricter enforcement and public awareness are needed. Drunk driving remains a leading cause of these preventable tragedies.
SEE ALSO: El Salvador Traffic Accidents
Tougher Drunk Driving Laws With Stricter Penalties and Longer Jail Terms
El Salvador rolled out sweeping reforms to its traffic laws, introducing harsher penalties for drunk and drug-impaired driving to curb the country’s alarming rate of traffic accidents.
The latest amendments to the Land Transportation, Traffic, and Road Safety Law—supported by the current administration—now classify any detectable level of alcohol in a driver’s system as grounds for criminal liability.
Previously, drivers were allowed up to 99 milligrams of alcohol per deciliter of exhaled air before facing sanctions.
Under the revised law, drivers deemed dangerous face criminal prosecution, an automatic suspension of their license, and a $150 fine. Repeat offenders risk having their driving privileges permanently revoked.
Additionally, the Penal Code has been updated to impose harsher sentences in fatal crash cases involving impaired drivers.
Offenders behind the wheel of private vehicles now face five to ten years in prison, while those operating cargo or public transport vehicles could receive up to 15 years. Officials say the reforms aim to improve road safety and reduce preventable deaths.
