Our lawyers in Romania answer a number of common questions about drink driving and the consequences that drivers can expect. Do not hesitate to reach out to us for legal representation.
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What is the Romanian law which incriminates the offense of driving a vehicle under the influence in Romania?
This offense is regulated by the new Criminal Code, in art. 336, entitled “Driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or other substances.”
According to this article, driving a vehicle on public roads for which the law requires holding a driving license by a person who, at the time of taking the biological samples, has an alcoholic concentration of over 0.80 g / l of pure alcohol in the blood shall be punished by imprisonment for one to five years or a fine. Specialized legal assistance is provided upon request by our team of Romanian lawyers.
Moreover, the next paragraph of the same article incriminates the person who, under the influence of psychoactive substances, drives a vehicle for which the law requires holding a driving license.
The term psychoactive substance refers to substances that affect the behavior, consciousness and disposition of the person who consumes them. You can also rely on the legal aid offered by our Romanian lawyers in cases invlving drig driving, apart from those concerning drink driving.
What is the punishment stipulated by the Romanian law for the persons who comit the offense of driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or other substances? Do your lawyers in Romania offer legal representation?
Both driving a vehicle while intoxicated, and driving under the influence of psychoactive substances, shall be punished by imprisonment for one to five years or a fine.
If the person mentioned above is performing public passenger transport, transport of dangerous substances or products or is in the process of practical training of persons for obtaining a driving license or during the practical tests for the examination to obtain a driving license, he/she shall be punished with imprisonment from 2 to 7 years. Legal representation can be provided by the team of litigators at our law firm in Romania.
Notice that the last paragraph inserts a qualified subject for the offense of drunk driving or driving under the influence of other substances, namely the person performing public passenger transport, for whom higher penalty limits are applied. This reflects the seriousness of the offenses.
This offense was previously governed by the provisions of GEO no. 195/2002, but these provisions were repealed after the entry into force of the new Penal Code.
As a novelty, it is provided that determining the blood alcohol concentration of withholding relevant holding the offense of driving under the influence of alcohol or other substances will be achieved when at the moment that the biological samples are being taken, without the possibility of subsequent recalculations. Our lawyers in Romania can provide more details about these stipulations.
However, Romania’s Constitutional Court upheld, with a majority of votes, the exception of unconstitutionality raised ex officio by the Court of Appeal and found that the phrase “at the time of taking the biological samples” is unconstitutional.
The previous regulation foresaw the need for the concentation of alcohol in the blood beyond the limit set by law, to exist when driving, while the new regulation stipulates the condition that the offender have an alcohol concentration of over 0.80 g / l pure alcohol blood at the time that biological samples are being taken.
Art. 190 par. 8 of the New Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that, in case of driving a vehicle by a person who is under the influence of alcohol or other substances, the collection of biological samples will be made available to the bodies of finding and consented for review by a doctor, nurse or person with medical training in the shortest time, in a medical institution, under the special laws.
The alcohol concentration shall be determined through the toxicological analysis of the biological samples collected at a time more or less distant from the time of the offense, which is that of the detection of the driver in traffic.
The requirement that the concentration of alcohol over 0.80 g / l of pure alcohol in the blood to be placed at the time of taking the biological samples, places the crime at a later time than it occurred, given that the essence of the danger of the crime is that they consume at the time of their commission. The specialists at our Romanian law firm can give you more details about the mandatory collection of samples in such cases.
What is the form of intent prescribed for that offense under the legal provisions of Romania?
The subjective aspect of driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol in the form of intent involves intention, which can be direct or indirect. There is direct intent when the driver foresees, as inevitably, the result of his act and therefore aimes its production by committing that act. There is indirect intent when the subject foresees the result, not pursued, but accepts its possibility.
For more details regarding the offense of driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or other substances, please feel free to consult the list of attorneys within the law firm Darie, Manea & associates who will guarantee specialized legal advice, accurate and complete information, as well as representation before the competent authorities when required. Do not hesitate to contact our law firm in Romania.