Highway Code, mandatory Alcolock for those with convictions on the road. Here's what you risk

With the publication of the implementing decree in the Official Gazette, the obligation to install - at one's own expense - the Alcolock in cars for those who have been convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol. Therefore, those in this condition will have to prove that they are completely sober before getting behind the wheel of their vehicle by blowing into the innovative system that works like a breathalyser and stops the starting engine until the driver's alcohol level has been checked.

A squeeze that arrives precisely in the days most closely watched on Italian roads and motorways, taken by storm by the maxi exodus. In practice, after the period of suspension of the driving licence, the prefect will insert a specific codification on the driving document with the Alcolock obligation for a further two years for those caught driving with a blood alcohol level from 0.8 gr/l to 1.5 gr/l and for three years with a level above 1.5 gr/l. The instrument, which will have to be calibrated every year, will have to be installed in all vehicles used by the convicted driver, including buses and lorries, at a cost of between EUR 1,500 and EUR 2,000.

"The driver's vehicle on which the Alcolock is installed will oblige anyone who gets into it and has to drive it to blow into the device with a 'zero alcohol' result in order to start the engine," recalled the president of Asaps, Giordano Biserni, referring to those cases where a household has only one vehicle. The list of authorised installers and vehicle models on which the Alcolock can be installed will be published on the website of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. "For the rascals who will try to circumvent the Alcolock by having others blow others and then drive again, or who will tamper with the seals," Biserni concludes, "there will be heavy penalties of up to over 600 euros and further penalties on the licence.

But this is not the only news of the summer for travellers. At Italian airports equipped with the latest generation of scanners, in fact, the rule has come into force allowing liquids over 100 ml to be carried in hand luggage. But that's not all, because from today it will no longer even be necessary to show your documents together with your boarding pass. The latest novelty, however, concerns pets. Last May, in fact, Enac issued a resolution authorising passengers to bring pets weighing more than 8/10 kg into the cabin, provided they travel in suitable carriers, secured to the seat and placed near the window.