19-Year-Old in Custody on Vir Island
Police stopped a young motorcyclist on Wednesday evening and uncovered a series of violations that led to his arrest and a criminal complaint.
Police stopped a young motorcyclist on Wednesday evening and uncovered a series of violations that led to his arrest and a criminal complaint.
Police officers from the Zadar Police Station with the Nin branch arrested a 19-year-old motorcyclist on the island of Vir after a routine traffic check revealed he had committed multiple violations. The young man was stopped at 11:00 PM on August 6, 2026 on Pet Bunara Street, and it was immediately clear that something was wrong-he was riding without a protective helmet.
After stopping the motorcycle with Karlovac license plates, a breathalyzer test showed the 19-year-old had 0.19 grams per kilogram of alcohol in his system. Although this is a relatively low concentration, it was enough to constitute an offense for him because, under Croatian law, he is classified as a "young driver."
According to the Road Traffic Safety Act, a young driver is any person under the age of 24 who holds a Croatian-issued driver's license. For them, a zero-tolerance policy on alcohol applies, meaning they must not drive if they have any amount of alcohol in their blood. As stated in Article 199 of the same law, "a young driver must not drive a vehicle on the road or begin to drive a vehicle if under the influence of drugs or medications or if they have alcohol in their blood."
The driver also refused the offered preliminary test for the presence of drugs or medications in his system, which only worsened his situation.
During the procedure, police officers confiscated a metal grinder containing a small amount of marijuana from the 19-year-old. This discovery added a violation under the Act on Combating Drug Abuse to an already lengthy list of charges.
The young man was arrested at the scene and taken to police premises, and a criminal complaint will be filed against him with the competent court in Zadar. He is charged with multiple traffic violations, including riding without a protective helmet and driving under the influence of alcohol, as well as drug possession.
