Matteo Salvini in the Chamber announces that the reform of the highway code will arrive in Parliament within the month
– Milan
By June the new highway code will be in Parliament. But there is already talk of life imprisonment for the driving licence, license plates, helmets and insurance for scooters and bicycles. It is the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini who anticipates the times and contents of regulations that have been expected for years and announced several times by various governments. He does so by answering question time in the House.
the timing of the discussion
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“A first provision – explains the minister – the result of discussions with experts and with the main associations is in the pipeline, it will be the subject of discussion as early as June. These are punctual changes to the Highway Code and at the same time a law-delegation for the organic reform of the same Highway Code that we hope to bring shortly to the examination of these chambers”.
alcohol, bikes and scooters
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Among the priorities of the reforms to the highway code, “first of all there is the fight against driving after taking drugs, the so-called “life sentence of the driving license” – continues Salvini -. Our goal is to guarantee the effectiveness of the commitment not to use of drugs and abuse of alcohol and spirits, risking then bringing death to Italian roads.There are other solutions such as the alcohol-lock which inhibits starting the car in the event of a state of intoxication, as we have imagined a series of measures aimed at suspending the driving license in relation to systematic violations of the Highway Code.Finally, the package will also intervene on soft mobility on two wheels, which were not regulated in 1992 by providing for helmets, insurance, license plates and mandatory indicators for scooters and bicycles”.
Speed Cameras
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Responding to the question of the speed cameras scattered on municipal roads, the blue or orange posts that often give rise to complaints from road users, Salvini said that a single procedure for the approval of the devices is essential. “The problem encountered in administrative practices is that some of the devices used by the Municipalities are not approved, and require constant maintenance to preserve performance standards. In order to homogenize the instruments used on the national territory, it is therefore essential to proceed with the equivalence of the procedures for the approval and homologation of speed detection systems. Therefore, a single system equally recognized throughout Italy. It is one thing to place the speed camera near schools, hospitals, particularly dangerous stretches, it is another thing to place speed cameras treacherously which have nothing to do with road safety, but which are a hidden tax on motorists and motorcyclists.As soon as the legislative change we are working on has been approved, we have already prepared the draft interministerial decree with which devices will be found and approved and the speed detection equipment uniformly throughout Italy, and the conditions for the installation and operation of uniform control devices will be defined in all the Municipalities, with the definition of certain rules, fair and effective sanctions and the right of defense for citizens who cannot be tools, but must be protagonists of road safety”.
The criticisms of Ancma and Assosharing
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Salvini’s statement on bicycles has raised criticism from many quarters. Ancma, the Confindustria association that represents cycle and motorcycle manufacturers, also intervened: “These are measures that do not go in the direction of obtaining greater safety, for which – explains a note from the association – a structural and education to protect those who use the bicycle, who are weak road users”. “Last March we already had the opportunity to send a detailed letter to the competent minister, through which – remarked the president of Ancma Paolo Magri – we not only underlined the value of the cycle sector, which in Italy generates a turnover of over 3.2 billion euros, but we also highlighted that ours would be the only country in Europe, where, among other things, the use of bicycles is far more widespread than in Italy, to introduce these obligations. available to the government in a constructive way, but as it was announced, this reform today seems more against the diffusion of the bicycle than in favor of greater safety on the roads”. Assosharing which brings together scooter rental companies instead reiterates that the lowering of the maximum speed on rental fleets from 25 to 20 km/h has already “led to a significant advance in safety conditions”.
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