The persons who will be caught driving under the influence of alcohol will face stricter punishment. The Cabinet on May 23 approved amendments to a number of legal acts, IPN reports.

“These will remain immediately without the driver’s license for a period of six months in the case of the first violation and for a period of up to three years in the case of a repeated violation. The period will be decided by the court of law within three days. In the period the persons will be unable to drive with a temporary driver’s license. The given provision was annulled,” said Minister of the Interior Alexandru Jizdan.

He noted that those who will be caught driving while heavily inebriated will face an even harsher penalty. The driver’s license will be withdrawn for a period of four years. The fine for driving while heavily inebriated will be excluded and will replaced with up to 240 hours of community service.

The amendments also annul the provisions that enabled the judges and prosecutors to free the persons caught driving while heavily inebriated from criminal liability if they committed the first violation or if they maintain a minor.

To get a new driver’s license, the persons will have to take again the driving test  and to also attend an anti-alcohol and anti-drug 20-hour training program that will cost 4,000 lei, which will be paid by the driver caught inebriated.

The car of the person caught driving under the influence will be taken to a special parking place if the driver is not accompanied by another person who can drive this or this will not find a person who could take his place at the steering wheel.

The new provisions also refer to the cases when the car is left in a forbidden place or when this can generate a danger to the public interest. Thus, the vehicle will be taken to a special parking place for 250 lei that will be paid by the driver. Each parking hour will cost 15 to 40 lei, depending on the type of vehicle and the period for which this will remain parked.

Among other changes aimed at preventing road accidents are the increasing of fines for speeding. Thus, if the speed limit is exceeded by 10-20 km/hour, the fine will be 900 lei, up from 600 lei at present, while by over 40 km/hour – 1,800 lei, up from 1,500 lei now.

Prime Minister Pavel Filip expressed his conviction that the measures will be efficient. “A lot of work was done on these bills and a lot of people were involved, including from civil society, and last week we reached a compromise following broad debates within the National Road Safety Council,” the stated.

The bills approved by the executive are to be considered by Parliament.