New road safety rules in Italy, helmets, license plates and insurance mandatory for e-scooters
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New road safety rules that are expected to come before the government on Thursday include lifetime revocation of driving privileges for repeat drink or drug drive offenders involved in fatal car crashes, Transport and Infrastructure Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini announced on Wednesday.
“The new highway code includes road education, prevention, controls and then stiff penalties for those who make mistakes,” said Salvini.
These extend to “permanent driving licence withdrawal for repeat offenders who kill – it happens all too often now – while driving on drugs or having drunk” continued the minister, speaking at the assembly of the national builders’ association Ance.
New road safety measures modifying Italy’s existing highway code have reportedly been in the pipeline for some time.
However, they have received new impetus following a string of high-profile road accidents, including last Wednesday night’s crash in south Rome in which a five-year-old boy was killed by a Lamborghini SUV whose 20-year-old driver was allegedly taking part in a YouTube challenge with the other four occupants of the car.
Following the fatal accident Salvini said that under the new rules newly licensed drivers would be banned from driving the most powerful cars for three years, rather than for one as at present.
The draft bill made up of 18 articles also includes a new clampdown on drink and drug driving, including the introduction of a mandatory alcolock for repeat drink driving offenders, on the use of cellphones at the wheel, and on all other conduct generating statistically high accident rates, and a total ban on alcohol consumption before driving.
In addition it foresees the promotion of road safety education in schools, new prevention measures and measures to protect road cyclists, particularly when they are being overtaken, new measures to improve safety at level crossings and new fines for illegal parking and driving in limited traffic zones.
Significantly, it also makes helmets, license plates and insurance mandatory for using electric scooters, which will also only be allowed to circulate in areas designated by the local city council.
Consumers’ association Codacons lauded the proposals, especially the new rules on scooters which it said are increasing involved in serious road accidents.
“The government must, however, work to increase the police presence on the roads, because without an increase in controls, all measures to tighten penalties will be completely useless,” said Codacons.
