Eight people were injured this weekend, four seriously, after two separate collisions on the EN 125 according to the GNR's Faro District Command.
Two vehicles were involved in a crash near Benfarras, Boliqueime which blocked the road as firefighters extracted two victims who were in a seriously bad state.
Another collision between a passenger car and motorcycle was recorded on Sunday near Olhão where four people were hurt, leaving two in a serious condition and two with less threatening injuries. The traffic was able to be diverted while ambulance crews and firemen attended to the victims.
The GNR made more than 150 arrests over the weekend as they started to step up random checks on motorists in the lead up to the lucrative Christmas and New Year hunting season.
In its usual and ever-depressing Monday morning statement the GNR said that its officers had arrested 157 motorists, of which 104 were driving under the influence of alcohol, 25 for driving without a valid license, three for having nicked the car they were driving, four for having drugs on board, one for possession of an illegal weapon, and one that should not have been in the country at all.
The normal haul of heroin, hashish, firearms, ammunition and cash was made. The shiny-booted ones also managed to issue 1,628 traffic fines for the infringement of various motoring and paperwork rules.
