This country bordering France will adopt a new, much more repressive Highway Code to improve safety on its roads.
After Spain, which is at war with seniors – responsible on the other side of the Pyrenees for a large share of traffic accidents – another country close to France is toughening the rules of its Highway Code. But this time it is not a question of imposing more medical examinations on motorists to measure their ability to drive a car but of punishing more offenses observed on the roads. Approved by the Senate on November 20 before being published in the Official Journal on the 29th, the new law entered into force on December 14. Many errors committed by motorists are now punished much more severely.
This is particularly the case for speeding – with a minimum fine of 173 euros for exceeding the authorized limit of more than 10km/h -, driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, failure to carry seat belts or even parking in lanes reserved for buses or in spaces for disabled people. But the biggest news concerns an offense which is exploding in this country, Italy, as everywhere else: the use of the telephone while driving. To dissuade drivers from tapping on their screen during their journeys or watching videos, the Highway Code provides for a much more severe penalty.
Already, anyone who is spotted by the police using their Smartphone while driving is fined between 250 and…1,000 euros. The bill is even higher in the event of a repeat offense: from 350 to 1,400 euros. But the big news is that using the phone while driving now leads to another sanction. Added to the financial penalty is the suspension of your driving license. The Italian authorities have decided to introduce short suspensions, lasting 7 days in the case where the offense is committed by a driver with at least 10 points on their license, and 15 days for those who still have already less than 10 points.
Also, if the use of the Smartphone is identified as the cause of a road accident then the duration of the driving license suspension is doubled (14 and 30 days). Faced with a problem that affects all countries, particularly among younger drivers, it is entirely possible that France will soon take inspiration from its transalpine neighbor to fight against this phenomenon. And when we know that in 2023 more than 555,000 fines for using the telephone while driving have been issued in France, there is no doubt that such regulations would be all the rage.