The police have been holding raids every day of the Christmas holidays to catch drivers under the influence.

A raid on Järvevana tee saw every driver who passed through the checkpoint during a 30-minute period take a breathalyzer test on Monday.

"Two drivers have been removed from behind the wheel during the 30 minutes we've been here. Both are looking at misdemeanor proceedings," said Marek Vähi, operations chief for the PPA Traffic Supervision Center.

"We cannot really say the holidays have been peaceful. By now, a total of 97 intoxicated drivers have been removed from Estonian roads, five of them suspected of having taken narcotic substances. We have also seen three serious traffic accidents. Luckily, no one has died, while drunk driving is still at fault," Vähi remarked.

The Monday raid then moved to Lasnamäe where a driver of a bus headed from Tallinn to Rakvere had to be removed from behind the wheel.

The police were out in force doing traffic supervision during the Christmas holidays and will be for New Year's.

The authorities registered 165 incidents of domestic violence, with children either as victims or witnesses in 30 cases.

Taavi Kirss, head of operations for the North Police Prefecture, said that children have also called for help.

"It is the saddest thing when adults get to settling scores but fail to emphasize with the child's point of view. That is when we get calls from children who have to look on," Kirss said.

He added that the police urge everyone who hears sounds indicative of domestic violence, such as screams or weeping, coming from the neighboring apartment to dial 112.

"Your call and observation matter," Kirss said.

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