On Thursday, April 13, the Upper House, in its first session of the year, approved by 48 votes in favor and nine against the Zero Alcohol Driving Lawwhich was promoted for years by institutions, civil associations and people who suffered the worst of tragedies. After the pain, the joy of achieving the goal, but with his head set on applying the new law.
“It is a very big step, important for the road safety of the country, because We are talking about a law of care, which seeks a more respectful transit and with less pain”, he held to Page|12 the executive director of the National Road Safety Agency, Pablo Martínez Carignano.
In the Chamber of Deputies, the proposal obtained a majority of 195 votes on November 24, for which reason broad support was also discounted from senators from all over the political spectrum, something that finally happened. In this sense, Carignano affirmed: “The vote was overwhelming, as in Deputies, which shows that it is not a law of a sector or a political party. There was a need, a very strong social consensus regarding what we needed”. And I remark: “It is a victory.”
The initiative, which prohibits driving any type of vehicle with a blood alcohol level greater than zero milligrams per liter of bloodwhen it enters into force it will apply to all the national routes of the country’s provinces, regardless of whether or not they adhere to the law. After the Executive Power promulgates the law, which will happen in approximately 10 days, work will begin so that it also applies to provincial routes.
“We accompanied the organizations with the commitment that we were not just taking a public position, but assuming the responsibility that had been granted to us,” added Carignano. And he concluded:This law tells us about far fewer deaths and injuries on the roads, but it depends on us that it is fulfilled. I am convinced that it is a law that has great solidarity for a safer transit”
“Zero tolerance” with alcohol is already implemented in seven provinces and 13 localities in the country, where better results were obtained in terms of road accidents than with the current regulations. Alcohol is present in one in four road accidentsTherefore, the measure is expected to immediately generate a decrease in cases of drink driving, and in the long term a change in the road habits of drivers of any type of vehicle.
Until the sanction, there were also more than 50 Argentine cities with a zero alcohol driving regulation. “This speaks of a lot of work to raise awareness and make them understand its importance. It was a really very democratic process and it was about time that it was approved at the national level.”said Alba Sáenz, mother of Federico Ecker, who died in October 2006 along with 8 classmates and a teacher in the call Santa Fe tragedy.
“We had many doubts after the session that was postponed and we really thought it was very difficult for it to be approved,” said Sáenz, who was on the premises at the time the law was approved. The woman, who founded Driving Conscientiously after the death of her son 16 years ago, along with other parents, went on to say: “For us, the most important thing about this law is that it will help prevent road accidents, and surely we can take care of more lives, that’s what we work for”.
For her part, the member of the Mothers of Pain association, Viviam Perrone, insisted in statements to Radio Provincia on the importance of investing in breathalyzers and professionalizing those who carry out the controls so that they are well done. “It is a step forward because there are many road accidents that occur as a result of drunk drivers and the regulation allows us to give this message: if you are going to drive, you cannot drink any alcohol and, in this way, put an end to speculation” added the mother of Kevin Sedano, the 14-year-old who died in 2002 after being struck by a drunk-driving motorist in San Isidro.
In those provinces where the law was enacted the longest, such as Río Negro, deaths fell by 15.8% and in Jujuy by more than 37%. In Buenos Aires, the last provincial jurisdiction to adopt this measure, last year the number of drivers with a positive breathalyzer on the coast routes was reduced by half, in the ANSV controls carried out in January of this year, if compared to those of last year.
In addition, according to statistics from the ANSV Road Observatory during the Federal Breathalyzer operations, it is highlighted that, in jurisdictions with Zero Alcohol at the wheel, the number of drivers tested who circulate with a 0 degree of alcohol in their blood is notably higher than in those which have a limit of 0.5.
Report: Mercedes Chamli
