‘Stop drunken skiing’ says police chief

A senior police officer in Italy is reportedly anxious for skiing while drunk to be reclassified as a crime as serious as drink-driving, and is calling for safety campaigns to make the practice socially unacceptable. According to the BBC News website, Commander Alvaro de Palma is concerned at a “growing trend” among skiers of drinking a shot of grappa at the end of each run. He is reported as saying: “One shot of grappa or whiskey after lunch is one thing but when you have lots of grappa you lose control. It is just as dangerous as being on the road while drunk.” The website also quotes a ski instructor, who agrees that drunkenness is an issue, but that snowboarders are causing most of the problems: “They maintain a high speed, they can’t control themselves, and they don’t respect the signs.” There have been more than 20 deaths among skiers and boarders this year, and there has been a sharp increase in those fined for “reckless behaviour” – last season 280 people were fined across the whole country, while this season some 300 people have been fined in Commander de Palma’s region alone. Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad