Towards 14 December

Highway Code, from health offices to short suspensions: what changes for municipalities

Awaiting implementation decrees and ministerial clarifications, all updates in the Focus del Sole 24 Ore on newsstands on Friday 13 December

by Margherita Ceci

11 December 2024

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The reassurances of the Minister for Infrastructure, Matteo Salvini, on an incoming circular of clarification are not enough: the 'a few days of settling in and initial difficulties of approach' he indicated, is likely to take much longer. This is well known by the local police who, from Saturday 14 December, may find themselves, for example, having to note violations and suspensions of the licence without being able to enter the measure in the motor vehicle information system. But let us go in order.

The mini-suspensions

Among the innovations introduced by the new Highway Code are the so-called 'mini-suspensions' (also known as short suspensions), i.e. licence suspensions from 7 to 30 days, depending on the case, for drivers with fewer than 20 points. The cases are varied: they range from failing to observe certain prohibitions to failing to give right of way, not wearing seat belts, using a telephone, failing to give way to pedestrians or running red lights.

Unlike a normal suspension, these measures (except for seatbelt and seatbelt violations) do not have to go through the prefect, but can be taken directly by police officers, who are required to report the mini-suspension on the report and record it in the National Register of Licensed Drivers (Anag). This is not easy,' operators point out, 'since local police forces are not allowed to enter changes in the Anag computer system.

Codice della strada, nuove sanzioni per chi guida sotto l’effetto di alcol o droga

Sanitary facilities

Not only that: the operations of the police also encounter obstacles in the implementation of punishability for those who have traces of narcotic or psychotropic substances in their bodies, even if they are not in an altered state at the time of driving. Thus the positivity test, carried out by laboratories certified with the technical rules of forensic toxicology investigations, becomes even more important. Mobile health offices or agreements with territorial health authorities will be needed more than before.

And while it is true that municipal administrations have been moving to be ready for some time, it is also true that there are still a few days left before the new code comes into force. "We are taking steps to make sanitary agreements so that the rule will be effective," says the councillor for security of the Municipality of Milan, Marco Granelli, regarding the taking of saliva samples.

Cycling, parking and scooters

"This reform has lights and shadows. There are some positive things, such as the increase in the penalty for violating parking bans that we have been asking for a long time. But as far ascycling is concerned, the issue is critical: the cycle lane at the edge of the carriageway will only be allowed where it is not possible to make a delimited cycle lane'. This is a step backwards, according to the administration, compared to the 2020 regulations, which had introduced solutions that were already widespread throughout Europe: 'The lane makes it possible, in a short time and without the need for tenders, to increase the safety rate of the cycle path,' says the councillor.

And of the lanes that already exist in the city, what will happen to them after 14 December? "We asked for clarification, because the regulation does not say that 'they do not exist'. It means that the municipalities will have to make checks to see where it was actually possible to make a cycle lane and where not. We also have to see how case law will rule.

In short, further burdens on the municipal administration. Which are added to the costs of disputes: with the new Code, fines for non-payment of parking fees will be proportional to the time spent there. "Which complicates the very fact of making the sanction, because you cannot know how long the car has been there, and increases the ease of making appeals".

Lastly, the new obligations and bans on monopaths, about which sharing operators are perplexed, because of the risk of weakening urban micro-mobility. Even if - says Granelli - the obligation to wear helmets and number plates is 'important to increase citizens' safety'.

The timing

For some measures, it will be necessary to wait for decrees and guidelines from the competent ministries; for others, the implementation starts from the entry into force of Law 177/2024.

We list the main ones below. From 14 December.

STUPEFACENTS - Article 1

The principle of the causal link between consumption and psycho-physical impairment is no longer valid. To incur sanctions and suspensions, it will be enough to test positive in the toxicological test.

POINTS, FINES AND SUSPENSIONS - Article 4

Driving without a lens causes you to lose 8 points and no longer 5. The fine for cell phone rises from 165 to 250 euros, plus short licence suspension for those with less than 20 points. For speeding between 11 and 40 km/h more than once in a year in built-up areas, the fine rises from 173 to 220 euros, plus suspended licence.

AUTOVELOX- Article 10

In the event that several fines are issued in one hour on the same stretch of road by the same authority, the most serious fine increased by one third is payable.

Following Decrees

ALCOLOCK - Article 3

The device, imposed for at least two years on those who are criminally convicted of drunk driving, should prevent the engine from starting if it detects a blood alcohol level above zero.

A Ministerial Decree should set out within six months (a non-peremptory deadline) the characteristics of alcohol interlocks, the methods of installation and the workshops authorised to install them. Each device should be fitted with a seal to prevent alteration or tampering after installation.

MONTROLLERS - Article 14

The characteristics of electric scooters and the criteria and modalities for the formation, printing and sale of their 'vignette' will be established by subsequent decree.

CYCLE ROADS - Article 15

The conditions for realising the cycle lane and related signposting, both in urban and extra-urban areas, are established by a Ministerial Decree within 60 days (always a non-peremptory deadline) from the date of entry into force of the law.