The persons caught driving under the influence of alcohol will be held criminally accountable. This is provided in the new package of laws called the anti-alcohol package, Minister of the Interior Alexandru Jizdan stated in the program “Fabrika” on Publika TV channel, IPN reports.

According to the minister, the culture of driving and the responsibility of drivers are at very low levels in the Republic of Moldova. The new provisions are for the citizens’ benefit, for the benefit of the people who want the law to be obeyed. “We want the punishment to be inevitable. Thousands of persons escaped punishment. Others recidivated and killed our citizens who had the right to a future,” stated Alexandru Jizdan.

The minister noted that the high number of traffic accidents, the high mortality on the roads and the high number of persons caught driving inebriated were the reasons for which the given laws were drafted. ”Time has come for a change. The people should understand that when the law is implemented, the punishment could not be avoided. The person caught driving while being heavily inebriated will answer criminally,” he said.

Alexandru Jizdan added that the a person caught driving with an alcohol concertation of 0.15 to 0.30 milliliters in the exhaled air will be deprived of the driver’s license not for two to three years as now, but for 6 to 12 months. “When the person is caught driving heavily initiated, which is with 0.30 milliliters of alcohol and more, the fine will no longer be imposed. The person will be given to do community service and will have the driver’s license annulled,” he stated, explaining that in four years of the withdrawal of the license, the person will have to take again the driving test for obtaining a new license and to attend a ten-day anti-drug and anti-alcohol course held under the auspices of the National Probation Inspectorate that will cost 4,000 lei.

Furthermore, the amendments provide that the car of the person caught driving under the influence will be towed by a state-owned company to a special parking place. This will also happen if a car is parked in banned places or prevents ambulances and firefighting vehicles from getting to a place.

The minister voiced hope that the package of laws will be adopted by Parliament by the end of the current session.