Romanian Parliament approves bill removing driving licenses of drunk, drugged drivers for 10 years

Romania’s Chamber of Deputies has adopted a bill that stipulates that drivers caught drunk or under the influence of drugs will lose their driving licenses for 10 years. The legislation received 256 votes in favor.

The bill aims to improve the legal framework for preventing and combating illicit drug trafficking and consumption and other substances likely to have psychoactive effects.

"Practically, from the moment of promulgation and entry into force, anyone detected driving under the influence of alcohol or psychoactive substances will receive, in addition to a conviction, a ban on driving a vehicle for up to 10 years," said the Social Democrat senator Robert Cazanciuc, the initiator of the bill, cited by Digi24.

The PSD senator also stated that "this is a great achievement for me because, as I promised, I continued the plan of measures to reduce the number of deaths on Romanian roads, in an attempt to move it from the top position in road deaths in Europe, [where it has been] over the last seven years.”

Romania remains in first place in the EU in terms of deaths from road accidents, with 86 fatalities per million inhabitants in 2022, nearly double the average across the bloc.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/George Calin)