The House of Representatives gave the green light to the bill on the highway code with 163 yes votes, 107 votes against. The text now goes to the Senate for consideration. Fdi, Lega and Forza Italia voted in favour. Against Pd, M5s, Avs and Action.
Fight against alcohol, drugs and smartphone use
The bill intervenes directly on some rules of the highway code, tightening the measures to combat driving under the influence of alcohol (also providing for the installation of the alcohol lock) and drugs (the crime is triggered regardless of the state check of psychophysical alteration resulting from the intake of substances). The short suspension of the license is therefore introduced following a series of serious infringements (such as driving against traffic) and in relation to the ‘asset’ of points still available, while the sanctions are tightened, with the extension of the period of suspension of the licence, against the use of smartphones or other devices while driving. In the latter case, the license will be withdrawn from 15 days to two months and a fine of up to 1,697 euros which in the event of a repeat offense goes up to 2,588 euros, and in addition the suspension of the license can reach up to three months and the addition of deduction from 8 to 10 points.
The sanctions
If the blood alcohol level is between 0.5 and 0.8 grams per litre, the fine is from 573 to 2,170 euros and the driving license is suspended from 3 to 6 months. Between 0.8 and 1.5 grams per litre, double penalty, imprisonment and fine (arrest of up to 6 months and fine of 800 to 3,200 euros), and driving license suspended from 6 months to one year. If the blood alcohol level is higher than 1.5 grams per litre, the contravention is punished – here too – with a custodial and pecuniary sanction (arrest for 6 months and a year and a fine from 1,500 to 6,000 euros), and suspension of the driving license for one at two years. Double suspension if you use someone else’s car; if the same act is then committed within two years following the investigation (recurrence within two years) the license is revoked. Unless the vehicle belongs to someone else, the conviction or plea bargaining for this case involves the confiscation of the vehicle. All cases of driving while intoxicated – as well as refusal to submit to a test – are grounds for a 10 point deduction from the driving licence. In the case of drugs, the revocation of the license is triggered, which can be suspended for up to three years: it will be sufficient for the presence to emerge from the tests.
Crackdown on animal abandonment
The bill also imposes a crackdown on those who abandon animals on the street: anyone who, with such behavior, causes road accidents resulting in deaths, injuries or serious or very serious personal injury risks up to seven years in prison.
News for new drivers
The administrative measures include the establishment, at the Ministry of Infrastructure, of the register of telematic agencies that provide automotive consultancy services. While the prohibition for new drivers to drive large-engined vehicles, which goes from 1 to 3 years after obtaining the license, remains unchanged, a higher power limit has been established, in order to take into account the engine capacity of a car of medium power. In detail: for the first three years from the B license you can drive cars up to 75 kW/t, a limit which rises to 105 kW for electric and hybrid vehicles.
More speed, less safety: the battle over the new highway code
by Luigi Gaetani
Limit the use of speed cameras
A complex package of innovations in the code concerns speed cameras. In particular, in the case of multiple violations within the same time and on a stretch of road that falls under the jurisdiction of the same owner body, there is no material accumulation of sanctions, but the application of the sanction provided for the most serious violation, increased by a third. However, it will not be possible to place speed cameras in areas with speed limits below 50 kilometers per hour. Fines for speeding increase, with the maximum up to 1,084 euros and license suspension between two weeks and a month in the event of a repeat offense. Even in the ‘streets’ of Venice it will be possible to ascertain and sanction the speed of boats thanks to the ‘barcavelox’.
Helmet requirement on scooters
Therefore, for all scooter drivers, there is the obligation to wear a helmet, a sticker and an insurance policy, together with a ban on leaving urban centres. While the circulation possibilities for motorcycles, thermal and electric, on extra-urban roads and motorways are expanding.
The insurance coverage verification system is then strengthened by cross-referencing the data deriving from sanctions, including those for running a red light.
The delegation, whose exercise is set for 12 months, concerns the review and reorganization of the regulation of motorization and road traffic. There are 4 general principles and 27 specific directive criteria.
Scooters on motorways and ring roads
Motorcycles with an engine capacity of no less than 120 cc can circulate on motorways and main extra-urban roads if driven by an adult.
#Highway #code #Chamber #news #speed #cameras #cell #phones
– 2024-04-05 14:58:32
