Changes to the Highway Code. New adjustments to the Highway Code are announced. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has developed an Emergency Ordinance designed to make substantial changes to the Highway Code, all of which are aimed at improving road safety.
Changes to the Highway Code. The law expected by all drivers in Romania
Changes to the Highway Code. Among the most important proposed changes are those related to situations in which drivers are detected driving under the influence of alcohol.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs launched a draft emergency ordinance in public debate. It proposes changes to the Highway Code (OG 195/2002). The new changes relate to the criminal treatment of drivers caught driving under the influence of alcohol. When could they get away with it?
Developed by MAI experts, the extended project proposes significant adjustments to the Highway Code. A special focus is on increasing road safety across the country.
One of the changes announced by this draft GEO is the revision of the testing procedure for alcohol and drug use. The ultimate goal is to reduce measurement errors.
More precisely, it is about the case where the consumption of certain foods can lead to the production of alcohol in the stomach through a natural fermentation phenomenon.
In these circumstances, when the blood alcohol level is low, below 0.10 mg/l, the driver has the right to request a retest. This can take place at least 15 minutes after the first test. However, the second test cannot take place later than 20 minutes after the first.
If the result of the second test turns out to be negative, the driver will not receive sanctions from the competent authorities.
“It is necessary to introduce the possibility for the person who drives a vehicle on public roads for which the law stipulates the obligation to hold a driving license to request a second test, if the test result is up to 0.10 mg/l of pure alcohol in the exhaled air , given the fact that some recently consumed foods can distort the measurement”, we learn from the substantiation note of the GEO project.
The project also provides for the right of the driver to request the collection of biological samples
In addition, if the alcohol test device indicates values between 0.11 and 0.40, the driver will have the opportunity to request the taking of biological samples for further analysis.
Moreover, the draft also includes some changes aimed at providing clarifications regarding the significant number of false-positive results in the case of drug tests. Under current legal provisions, following a positive drug test result, the driver’s license is suspended until the results of additional biological tests are obtained.
However, given the high volume of requests, the Institute of Forensic Medicine often experiences considerable delays in processing these results, which can even take several months.
In the context of these difficulties, the draft Emergency Ordinance regarding the amendments to the Highway Code proposes that the analysis of biological samples can also be carried out in the specialized laboratories of the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police, which are accredited.
In addition, they could also be carried out in public healthcare facilities that are authorized and accredited for such analyses.
