Punishments for drunk drivers to be toughened in Moldova as of 14 December

Chisinau, 14 December /MOLDPRES/ – The penalties for driving drunk drivers were tightened. Today, there come into force the new amendments to the law, whereby drivers who will be caught driving drunk will be left without the driving licence, and those who exceed the speed limit risk higher fines.

The announcement was made today by the head of the General Police Inspectorate, Alexandru Pinzari, at a public event. According to Pinzari, measures to tighten up punishments are necessary because the application of fines has proved to be ineffective. "Driving in drunk condition is one of the main causes of accidents, so it was decided to amend the punishment. The law is made to be respected, but especially to be always safe. I said before that "I just drank a glass" is enough to leave your car in the parking lot! I am asking drivers not to drink alcohol when they intend to drive, because this poses a risk to the driver as well for the other traffic participants," said Pinzari.

According to the new provisions, the driving licence for drunk drivers will be lifted immediately for a period of 6 months – in case of the first deviation and up to 3 years – in case of repeated deviations. The term will be set by the court within a maximum of three days, and drivers will no longer be able to circulate with a provisional permit, the respective notion being canceled.

Interviewed by agency, the lawyer of the National Patrol Inspectorate, Veceaslav Sarbu, specified that for those who are in a state of advanced alcoholic intoxication, sanctions will be tougher – their licence will be canceled for at least 4 years. "At the same time, a fine will be ruled out for advanced drunken driving, being replaced by unpaid work, up to 240 hours, for the benefit of the community. Also, the anti-alcohol package excludes shortcomings in legislation, which gave judges and prosecutors a margin of interpretation. According to the Criminal Code (article 55), those who are caught in a state of drunk driving may be released from criminal liability if they are at first offence or have a minor. This provision was canceled," said Sarbu.

So as too complete a new driving licence, the drivers will repeatedly take the driving test. "Also, after the expiry of the period for which the licence was provisionally lifted or canceled, a compulsory condition for obtaining it is the driver's attendance of the Anti-Alcohol and Anti-Drug Programme. The course will be held by staff of the National Probation Inspectorate and will aim to empower people who have driven drunk by group training and individual lessons. The 20 – hour programme will cost MDL 4,000. A confirmatory certificate will be offered at the end of the course, which will be asked to provide a new driving licence," said Veceaslav Sarbu.

The drunk driver's car will be transported to a special car park if the driver is not accompanied by a person who is capable of driving or will not find a person driving for him.

The provisions of the document also refer to cases in which the car has been left in a prohibited place or its being stationed may create a danger to the public interest. Thus, the cars are to be transported to a special car park, for a payment of MDL 250 paid by the driver. Each parking time will cost from MDL 15 – 40, depending on the type of vehicle and the period for which it remains parked. The vehicle lifting, transporting and storage services will be provided by the state enterprise Servicii Paza a MAI, based on the offence verbatim report.

Other modifications approved for the prevention of road accidents include the increase in fines for exceed of speed limit. Thus, for exceeding the speed by 10 – 20 km/h, the maximum fine increases from MDL 600 to MDL 900. Those who exceed the speed by more than 40 km/h will be fined up to MDL 1,800, compared to MDL 1,500 the maximum limit so far.

According to the National Patrol Inspectorate's data, over the recent two years, out of 5,000 road accidents, about 600 were caused by drunk drivers. Over 50 drivers died, and several hundred got various traumas. In the same period, more than 2,700 cases were reported in which the guilty defendants were released.