Twenty-three people died, and 51 were seriously injured in 2,382 road accidents over the last eight days, according to figures released by the GNR and PSP police forces relating to New Year’s Eve operations.
The two police forces also recorded a total of 629 minor injuries in 2,382 road accidents on the country’s roads between 27 December 2025 and 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, according to statements released by the GNR and PSP on Sunday.
On Saturday, the GNR recorded four fatalities in road accidents in São Martinho do Peso, in the district of Bragança, in Gandra, in the district of Braga, in Palmela, in the district of Setúbal, and in Martilongo, in the district of Faro.
These accidents involved a pedestrian being hit by a vehicle, two collisions and a crash, bringing the total number of deaths under the jurisdiction of the GNR to 17, in addition to the six recorded by the PSP in the last eight days.
During this period, the GNR reported 1,412 accidents, resulting in 17 fatalities, 36 serious injuries and 373 minor injuries, according to provisional data from Operation “Christmas and New Year 2025/2026”.
The military inspected 70,347 drivers, of whom 857 were driving under the influence of alcohol, and of these, 398 were arrested for driving with a blood alcohol level of 1.2 g/l or higher. A further 140 people were arrested for driving without a licence.
They also detected 8,801 traffic offences, of which 1,392 were for speeding, 459 for drink-driving, 244 for failure to use or incorrect use of seat belts and/or child seats, 197 for using a mobile phone while driving, 1,403 for failure to undergo mandatory inspection, and 373 for lack of mandatory insurance.
In turn, during the second phase of Operation Police Always Present – Safe Holidays 2025-2026, the PSP recorded 970 accidents, resulting in 267 injuries (15 serious and 252 minor) and six fatalities.
Regarding road prevention and enforcement, the PSP inspected 12,168 drivers and checked 26,104 vehicles using radar, detecting 2,886 offences.
Of the traffic offences detected, the police highlight 372 for failure to undergo mandatory inspection, 349 for speeding, 135 for failure to have mandatory civil liability insurance, 85 for drink-driving, 58 for improper use of a mobile phone while driving and 27 for failure to use or incorrect use of seat belts and/or child restraint systems.
During the operation, the PSP made 516 arrests across the country, most (315) for traffic offences, namely 161 for drink-driving, 125 for driving without a legal licence and 29 for other traffic offences.
Twenty-seven people were arrested for property crimes (theft and robbery) and 49 on suspicion of drug trafficking, with 20,338 individual doses seized.
Six firearms, 21 bladed weapons, 23 rounds of ammunition and six other weapons were also seized, either as a precautionary measure or following the 13 arrests made for possession of prohibited weapons. A further 19,432 pyrotechnic articles were also seized.
Since the beginning of the second phase of the operation, as part of air border control enforcement actions, the PSP has arrested 13 people for illegal status in the country, checked 320,849 foreign citizens and issued 36 reports and 60 notices of administrative offences under the law on foreigners.
“There were also 46 refusals of entry into national territory and 15 notifications of voluntary abandonment,” the statement said.