The Government has approved draft amendments to the Traffic and Road Safety Laws, these to include stiffer penalties and alcohol and drug tests for pedestrians who violate the rules of the road.
Any pedestrians who violate the rules of the road, and not just victims or partners of a casualty, could be subject to a drug test via a saliva sample as well as a control for alcohol.
The reform also covers driving with presence of drugs in the body, which is different to the current driving under the influence of drugs. The Government is pusuing a zero tolerance policy when it comes to drugs.
Under the amendments, driving under the influence would become a €1,000 fine, up from the current €500. The current maximum permitted alcohol levels for driving, 0.25 mg of alcohol per litre of expired air for normal drivers and 15 mg for new drivers and those involved in the transport of goods, would remain unchanged.
Radar detectors and inhibitors will once again be banned under the draft amendments and child safety harnesses would be regulated not by age, as is currently the case, but by height,
Under the draft, helmets for cyclists would be compulsory for minors while implementation for adults would be dependent upon the findings of the Road Safety Committee of Congress.
There is also the possibility of increased speed limits on certain stretches of motorways, up to 130 kph, and a reduction in limits on some conventional roads and in towns.
These are, of course, draft amendments.