Comment on And nothing of value was lost
Rinox@feddit.it 3 weeks agoIn Italy there’s been a big push against this in the last decade.
There’s now a law called “road murder” (omicidio stradale) which makes the penalties for killing someone while driving, especially if intoxicated, more similar to intentional murder (rather than manslaughter). It’s essentially aggravated manslaughter, when you cause the death of someone while driving recklessly.
Zagorath@aussie.zone 3 weeks ago
That’s brilliant.
Honestly I’d push for a change in law such that a crash between a car and a more vulnerable road user is legally presumed to be the car’s fault unless evidence is provided to the contrary. The big problem we’ve had far too many times where I live, and in many other parts of the world, is that because you can’t prove the driver was riding negligently (or more to the point: because you can’t convince a car-brained jury pool or judge panel to find that they were negligent), far too often they get off scott-free.
Rinox@feddit.it 3 weeks ago
Generally speaking, here it’s often presumed that it’s the car’s fault, or at least that’s how I feel it’s perceived.
Still, negligent driving includes DUI, driving while on the phone, driving too fast, driving in the opposite lane, not stopping to a red light or yield, illegal passing of another car and failing to stop after the incident occurred.
Moreover, the law now specifies that DUI is a criminal offense even when no incident occurred and blood level of alcohol is above 0.8 g/l, with possible jail time from 6 months to a year.
It’s become quite strict. Although I’m not sure how much it will actually affect the number of incidents, I’m not always very pro to “just increase the penalties” kind of laws. We need a more comprehensive plan to reduce the likelihood of incidents as much as possible, especially deadly incidents.
Zagorath@aussie.zone 3 weeks ago
By people and the media, or by the law? Because those are definitely not the same.
Though unfortunately in most of the anglosphere, the answer is that the average person will presume it’s the *non-*car-driver’s fault, and the law will make no presumption either way (which has the effect of letting drivers get off).
Wow that’s really cool! Is 0.8 g/L the only level of BAC that’s used in Italian law? Or are there like, other lower thresholds with less legal severity? I ask because, assuming 0.8 g/L is the same as a 0.08% BAC, that seems really high. For context, in carbrained Australia the limit is .05.
Rinox@feddit.it 3 weeks ago
Not a lawyer, so I’m not sure about the law, but generally speaking the perception I get (ie what people say) is that “it’s always your fault” when speaking to drivers. Btw, this doesn’t mean that streets are any safer for cyclists or people walking or that people driver any better. This is why I’m not always in favor of laws that just add more penalties, but fail to do any structural changes.
As for alcohol level, the law says under 0.5 g/l is fine, between 0.5 and 0.8 it’s a minor infraction (fine and possible license suspension), between 0.8 and 1.5 it becomes a criminal offense, with bigger fine, longer license suspension and jail up to 6 months, and over 1.5 g/l it’s still bigger fine, longer suspension, up to a year of jail etc. Then there are the aggravating circumstances, like if you also cause an accident, it’s doubled, if it’s a repeat offender there’s the revocation of the license etc.