Abstract
The long-term roadside surveys show that the number of drunken drivers in normal traffic is quite low in Finland in comparison to many other countries. It is of great interest to see the trend in the new millennium because the ever time lowest figures for drunken drivers in Helsinki and the surrounding area (0.19 percent) and in the whole country (0.16 percent) were recorded in 1999. Demographic characteristics, driver's own risk assessment to be detected, consumption of alcoholic beverages, driving event, etc. have been questioned in roadside surveys. By comparing the data of the R-study and the official statistics of drunken drivers it is apparent that only a very small number of all drunken drivers comes to the knowledge of police.