Robert Abela announces ongoing revision of drink-drug driving penalties
Drink and drug driving have been mentioned in several recent road fatalities.
The government is revising penalties for drink and drug driving, Robert Abela said on Sunday.
“There is an ongoing exercise to determine if the penalties are sufficient for these sort of crimes. If you ask me, I think there should be a serious revision,” Abela said in a broadcast interview.
“It’s time to have a deterrent... there will be serious penalties. You will be taken to court and will be convicted on the parameters of the penalties [in the law].”
Drink and drug driving have been mentioned as a factor in several recent road fatalities.
Mildred Azzopardi, 62, a mother of four, died in Valletta on July 27 when a car ploughed into her as she put items in her car's boot.
A breathalyser test on Benjamin Chetcuti, the driver involved in the crash, showed him to be some five times above the legal alcohol limit, a court was told.
A Wolt courier, Khim Bahadur Pun, died on August 10 after a 17-year-old (who cannot be named by court order) allegedly ploughed into him. The teenager, who is accused of running away from the scene, was also allegedly found to be above the legal limit.
On Thursday, a motorist who crashed head-on into a bus on Tower Road in Sliema was four times over the alcohol limit. The man pleaded guilty to driving recklessly while under the influence. That crash had no fatalities.
Several emergency doctors have called for stiffer penalties for drink and drug driving, as well as random testing.
The Nationalist Party has said it will be proposing a private member’s bill for “zero tolerance” for accidents caused by drivers who are found to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The Insurance Association Malta and the Association of Catering Establishments have also called for random roadside checks and stricter penalties.
Magistrate Joe Mifsud called for random roadside alcohol and drug testing of drivers, after a fatal Senglea motorcycle crash revealed the rider had cocaine in his system.
Replying to questions by One News editor Josef Caruana on Sunday, Abela said that besides legislation, there will be stricter enforcement by increasing the presence of police, Transport Malta, and LESA officials on the road.
He added that there also needed to be more campaigns to deter people from driving while drunk or high.