Two very dangerous conduct regulated differently by the Highway Code. And unrepeatable investigations often tip the scales
– Milan
The Highway Code treats driving under the influence of alcohol differently from driving under the influence of drugs. There are also various checks that are carried out and which can then have an important weight in the course of a possible trial. The accident that took place in Casal Palocco, in Rome, in which Manuel, a 5-year-old boy, lost his life and in which the driver of the rented Lamborghini Urus SUV later tested positive for cannabinoids, reproposes an unfortunately very frequent case: precisely driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Which, as mentioned, is treated differently by articles 186, 186-bis and 187 of the Highway Code and in the case of deaths and injuries it goes into criminal law. However, codes and laws do not eliminate the risk of errors during the checks which will then give a precise direction to the outcome of a possible trial.
alcohol
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Driving under the influence of alcohol is regulated by article 186, while article 186-bis deals specifically with drivers under the age of 21 or novice drivers. In general, the legal limit is 0.5 grams per litre. The penalty is gradual: from 0.51 to 0.8 grams the penalty ranges from 543 to 2,170 with suspension of the license from three to six months; from 0.81 to 1.5 the fine ranges from 800 to 3,200 euros and imprisonment for up to six months; over 1.5 fine from 1,500 to 6,000 euros and arrest from six months to one year while the suspension of the license ranges from one to two years if there are no precedents, but it can be revoked in the case of recidivism in the two-year period. The penalties are increased for under-21s and novice drivers. In the event of an accident in which the alcoholic intoxication of the driver, both novice and “expert” drivers, is ascertained, the penalties are doubled. If the driver exceeds 1.5 grams per litre, the license is always revoked.
narcotics
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Driving under the influence of drugs is regulated by article 187 of the Highway Code. “Anyone who drives in a state of psycho-physical impairment – reads the law – after having taken narcotic or psychotropic substances is punished with a fine of between 1,500 and 6,000 euros and imprisonment from six months to one year. Upon ascertaining the crime in any case follows the accessory administrative sanction of the suspension of the driving license from one to two years”. If the offense is committed with the car of a person not involved in the offence, the suspension is doubled. If the impaired driver causes an accident, the penalties are doubled.
the importance of investigations
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In the hypothesis of a criminal proceeding, the way in which the investigations are carried out, as previously mentioned, has an important, sometimes fundamental, weight. For example, in the case of drugs “the traces remain in the urine for several days. The only way to ascertain whether the accident occurred with the driver in an impaired state is a blood test and it is a one-time act. When the samples are taken, guarantees must be given to the person being tested” explains Erdis Doraci, a Roman lawyer specializing in cases related to the highway code. On the other hand, it is not uncommon that, in good faith, due to superficiality or lightness, the necessary tests are carried out badly, incompletely or late. The Highway Code is accompanied, continues the lawyer, “a table in which narcotic substances are inserted. This table is periodically updated” also to avoid cases such as those in which the active ingredients contained in some drugs had been included in the list. Even for excess alcohol, the breathalyzer photographs the situation in which the test was carried out but does not describe the curve, in temporal order, of the presence of alcohol in the blood which varies from person to person.
traffic homicide
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Since 2016, the case of road homicide has been included in the penal code which provides for the aggravating circumstance of the awareness of being able to cause a risk, the so-called possible fraud: “The difference from homicide – continues Doraci – in which the possible fraud is all-encompassing, and therefore it is left to the judge’s discretion, is that three very specific circumstances are foreseen in road homicide: over speeding, alcohol and drugs”.
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