Embarrassed Portuguese police said on Friday they had made a mistake when they announced that an early-morning road check in a Lisbon neighbourhood had found 90% of drivers over the alcohol limit.
They later reported that the real figure was less than 10%.
Police initially said 90% of the 585 drivers stopped in the early hours in a district known for its nightlife had a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of 0,5g per litre of blood.
But in a statement issued hours later, after their initial tally was widely reported in the Portuguese media, red-faced police said just 62 drivers were caught while driving under the influence.
Portugal has both one of the highest alcohol-consumption rates and one of the highest road-accident rates in Europe.
Police detained 14 people, mostly for driving with a blood-alcohol level of at least 1,2g per litre of blood, while the other drivers found to be under the influence of alcohol were issued fines.
One driver was arrested on drug-trafficking charges after he was found to have 20 doses of hashish in his possession.
Portuguese fines for driving under the influence of alcohol range between €500 and €2 500.
Road accidents caused 1 355 deaths, 4 636 serious injuries and 51 238 light injuries in 2003, according to government statistics.
A study carried out in 23 European countries and published late last year found 43% of all Portuguese said they regularly drove after drinking alcohol.
Only in Spain and Italy did a higher percentage of drivers say they often took to the road after a few drinks. — AFP