This type of offense, driving of a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or other substances, poses a serious danger to traffic safety on public roads, for this reason they are sanctioned by law and enacted into the criminal or contraventional law, their authors facing penalties that may lead to the cancellation of the driving license.
In the following, we will present the conditions, decisions given by the Romanian Courts and ways of approach this problem, to reduce the risk of a conviction and cancellation of the driving license.
Criminal or contraventional offense?
Driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol can be a criminal or contraventional offense, the level of making the difference between the two. When it comes to driving under the influence of psychoactive substances, simply detecting them in the blood makes the offense a criminal one.
Driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages is a contravention when the driver of a motor vehicle, agricultural or forestry tractor or tram has a blood alcohol concentration less than or equal to 0.80 g / l. In this case, the action is sanctioned with fine and license suspension for 90 days.
Conditions for the existence of the offense:
– The action must be committed on public roads,
– the vehicle must be one for which the law requires a driving license.
– at the time of driving, the blood alcohol concentration is exceeding 0.80 g/l , or the driver is under the influence of psychoactive substances,
Refusing or avoiding to provide biological samples
The act of refusing or avoiding, by the driver of a vehicle, to provide the biological samples required to determine the presence of alcohol or of psychoactive substances in the blood stream is a criminal offense, punishable by imprisonment.
Entrusting a vehicle to a person under the influence of alcohol or psychoactive substances
The person who knowingly entrusts a vehicle to an individual who they know is under the influence of alcohol or of psychoactive substances commits a criminal offense.
The punishment?
For the acts listed above, the law stipulates the following penalties:
– Driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or other substances shall be punishable by no less than 1 and no more than 5 years of imprisonment or by a fine.
-Refusing or avoiding to provide biological samples shall be punishable by no less than 1 and no more than 5 years of imprisonment.
– Entrusting a vehicle to a person under the influence of alcohol or psychoactive substances shall be punishable by no less than 6 months and no more than 3 years of imprisonment or by a fine.
The sentences given by the Romanian Courts vary, depending on several criteria, taking into account, among other things, the level of blood alcohol concentration, the criminal history of the author, the nature and extent of the consequences , etc.
When the driver is found guilty of committing one of the acts described above, the Romanian Courts sentence usually is imprisonment or fine (when the law provides this alternative). In the case of imprisonment, the Court can rule to postpone enforcement of a penalty and set a time period to be served on probation, or may suspend service of a sentence under supervision.
When is the driving license canceled?
Canceling of the driving license for the above offenses is ordered when the driver has been convicted by a final judgment or was ordered an ancillary penalty consisting of banning the right to drive certain categories of vehicles was.
In the case of postponement of penalty enforcement the driving license is returned to the holder when the court does not ordered an ancillary penalty consisting of banning the right to drive.
How and when can you get a new driving license, when the old one was canceled?
The person whose driving license has been canceled may take the exam to obtain a new driving license if one of the following conditions is met:
– 6 months have passed since the date of execution of the punishment of the fine or punishment of imprisonment;
– one year has pass since of the final judgment ordering the suspension of the execution of the punishment under supervision;
– amnesty occurred;
– the prohibition of the right to drive certain categories of vehicles established by the court provided for in Art. 66 par. (1) lit. i) of the Criminal Code, expired or was revoked.
If you are experiencing one of the above cases, you can always contact us for free evaluation of your case.