Moldovan cabinet approves anti-alcohol package

Chisinau, 23 May /MOLDPRES/ - The punishments for drivers caught drunk at wheel will be toughened. The government approved a string of legislative amendments on sanctions for the driving vehicles drunk, the government’s communication and protocol department has reported.    

According to the new provisions, drivers caught drunk at wheel will immediately remain without driver’s licence for a period of six months in the case of the first infringement and up to three years – in case of repeated infringements. The period will be set by court in three days at the latest and on this period, drivers will not be able to move with a provisional driver’s licence, as the concerned notion has been cancelled.  

For those who are discovered in a state of advanced drunkenness, the sanctions will be tougher – their driver’s licence will be cancelled for four years. At the same time, the fine will be excluded for driving in a state of advanced drunkenness, and will be replaced by unremunerated labour, up to 240 hours, for the benefit of the community.   

Also, the anti-alcohol package excludes a deficiency in the legislation, which allowed judges and prosecutors a margin of interpretation. And namely, under the Criminal Code (Art. 55), people caught in advanced drunkenness at wheel can be released from criminal liability if they are at the first infringement or if they maintain a minor. This provision has been cancelled.   

To process a new driver’s licence, drivers will pass a new driving exam. Also, after the expiration of the term for which the licence was provisionally raised or cancelled, a compulsory condition for getting the licence is the attendance by drivers of the anti-alcohol and anti-drug programme. The source will be given by employees of the National Probation Inspectorate and will aim at enhancing the responsibility of people who drove drunk by group training and individual lesions. The programme has 20 classes and will cost 4,000 lei.    

The car of the driver caught drunk at wheel will be carried to a special parking, if the driver is not accompanied by a person able to drive or fails to find a person driving instead of him/her. To regulate the concerned procedure, the government today approved a regulation on the way of raising, carrying, depositing and return of vehicles in the process of finding out the contraventions.  

The stipulations of the document also refer to the cases when the vehicle was left in banned place or its standing may trigger a danger for public interest. Thus, cars are to be carried to a special parking, against a payment of 250 lei, paid by the driver. Each hour of parking will cost between 15 and 40 lei, depending on the type of the vehicle and the period for which it remains parked. The services of raising, transportation and depositing of vehicles will be provided by the State Enterprise Servicii Pază a MAI (Interior Ministry’s Guard Services), based on the report on finding out the contravention.       

Prime Minister Pavel Filip voiced confidence that these measures would be efficient. “A lot of work has been carried out on these drafts, more people from the sector, as well as from the civil society have been involved and last week, we reached common mind, discussing in detail these drafts on the platform of the National Council for Road Traffic Safety,” the PM said.     

Among other amendments approved to prevent traffic accidents, there is increase in fines for exceeding the speed limit. Thus, the fine increases from 600 to 900 lei for the exceeding of the speed by 10-20 km/hour. Persons exceeding the speed by more than 40 km/hour will be fined with up to 1,800 lei, against 1,500 lei – the maximal limit recorded so far.  

The draft laws approved by the cabinet are to be submitted to parliament for consideration.