Senate approves Salvini's highway code reform

(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 20 - The Senate on Wednesday gave definitive approval to Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini's reform of the Highway Code.
    The law, which had already been approved by the Lower House, passed with 83 votes in favour, 47 against and one abstention The bill stiffens the penalties for using mobile phones at the wheel, with fines of between 250 and 1,000 euros and a driving ban of a week if you already have points in your licence.
    This can go up to a three-month ban and a fine of 1,400 euros for repeat offenders.
    The fines and bans double if the use of the telephone causes an accident.
    It will be possible for speeding fines to go up as high as 880 euros for people who break the speed limit inside cities twice a year or more and they face having their licence suspended for 15 to 30 days.
    The penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol goes from a fine of between 573 and 2,170 euros and a licence suspension of three to six months if the blood alcohol levels is between 0.5 and 0.8 grams per litre.
    People with blood alcohol levels between 0.8 and 1.5 grams per litre risk a fine of up to 3,200 euros, a driving ban of between six months and a year and a jail term of six months.
    If the level is over 1.5 grams, the fine can go as high as 6,000 euros, the driving ban up to two years and the jail term up to one year.
    There is also the obligation to install a breath alcohol ignition interlock device after getting the licence back.
    People caught driving under the influence of drugs face bans of up to three years.
    The bill obliges motorists to respect a distance of 1.5 metres when overtaking cyclists.
    Users of e-scooters will be obliged to wear helmets, have a number plate and get insurance - although subsequent legislation will set out the details on this.
    It will not be possible for local authorities to issue motorists with more than one speeding fine for repeated breaches that come within an hour of each other.
    If there is no than one, the motorist must pay only the biggest fine, plus a third.
    People who abandon animals at a road side face losing their licences for between six months and a year.
    They risk seven years in jail if an accident is caused by the abandoned animal. (ANSA).