On Sunday comes into force the reform of the penal code # porunaleyjusta
The abandonment in the place of the accident will suppose a crime with up to a maximum of 4 years of jail
Today, the reform of the Penal Code approved by Congress, which toughens the penalties for reckless driving , has been published in the Official State Gazette (BOE). This reform includes speeding and the consumption of drugs or alcohol as aggravating factors , and it again penalizes injuries caused by these behaviors, in addition to sanctioning leaving the scene of the accident.
The new regulation comes into force one day after its publication in the BOE.
The law includes 3 main changes :
- The introduction of three assumptions that will be considered serious recklessness
- The increase in penalties for serious recklessness
- the introduction of the crime of abandonment in the place of the accident
These will be considered serious acts of negligence and the penalties will be increased in these cases.
- Speeding
- Driving under the effects of alcohol
- Driving low the effects of drugs
Until now, it was the judge who determined whether or not it was serious negligence, but now there will no longer be this consideration since it will directly be categorized as serious if it meets some of these criteria.
The penalties are increased from the previous maximum of 4 years to 6 years if a minimum of 2 deaths are caused, or one death and one very serious injury, although the penalty could increase to 9 years if there are several deaths, but this is at the judge's discretion.
Abandonment at the accident site
The text specifies that if the place of the accident is abandoned, the penalties will go from 6 months to 4 years of imprisonment. This initiative was promoted by Anna González, when her husband died in an accident where the driver ran away. This driver was only sentenced to 2 years in prison
With all these measures the cyclist collective is a bit safer, although mutual respect and following the traffic code will be the best prevention to avoid accidents.
