In the end, the Senate approved the law that imposes
zero tolerance of alcohol for driving.
It happened in the session this Thursday, more than four months after the treatment in
Deputies
.
And after several delays that motivated the insistence of the associations of victims of road accidents.
Promoted by the National Road Safety Agency and Sedronar, the project was presented last year.
And before being approved by the Deputies by
a large majority, with 193 votes in favor, 19 negative and 4 abstentions
, there were presentations by experts from different fields.
In the stands were the organizations of
relatives of victims,
who carried their flags and yellow stars.
They celebrated the approval, which was given with 48 photos in favor, 9 against and 0 abstentions.
It is actually the modification to Law 24,449, which when enacted will be in
force on national routes.
However, it will be the provinces and districts that will then have to adapt their own legislation to
adhere to the regulations.
Relatives of the victims of road accidents witnessed the Senate session in which zero tolerance for driving was approved.
The main change has to do with the
elimination of the current limit of 0.5 grams of alcohol per liter of blood
.
Regarding the sanctions, it will be each of the jurisdictions that implements them once they adhere to the law.
According to the National Road Safety Agency, there are
11 provinces
, including the City of Buenos Aires, that still do not have zero tolerance in Argentina.
Among those already in force are Córdoba, Entre Ríos, Jujuy, La Pampa, Río Negro, Salta, Santa Cruz, Tierra del Fuego and Tucumán.
And also in cities like Mar del Plata, Neuquén, Ushuaia, Río Grande, Posadas, Rosario, Moreno and other municipalities.
The arguments that support the project explain that, even if it is minimal,
alcohol consumption causes loss of reflexes
, sleep and other effects that are not compatible with a person who wants to drive a vehicle.
They also affirm that the districts that already lowered the limit to zero
reduced the accident rate
.
In addition, according to data from organizations of relatives of victims, in the country, between 14 and 20 people die per day from alcohol behind the wheel.
According to the ANSV Observatory,
young people between the ages of 15 and 35
are the main road victims, and alcohol is one of the main factors, since it is
present in 1 in 4 road accidents.
The project was not accompanied by the representatives of the provinces that have
wine production.
In this sense, the Argentine Wine Corporation (Coviar), which has the majority of producers concentrated in Mendoza, has been manifesting.
The Senate approved the law of zero tolerance of alcohol to drive.
This Thursday they also issued a statement in which they maintain that instead of legislating for zero tolerance, what should be improved is
"education and prevention
, in addition to increasing sanctions and controls."
From Coviar they affirm that they presented proposals so that the restrictions are concentrated in those under 30 years of age, "which is where the nucleus is and is the segment that suffers the most accidents due to alcohol consumption";
and so that there are "non-punishable levels, such as 0.3 or 0.5, in which warnings are received."
In addition, they ensure that zero tolerance is not possible, because
it does not take into account the margin of error
.
"It is a measure that has not given results in other parts of the world. The five countries with the best road safety indices based on the lowest accident rate, none of them have zero tolerance," they insisted.
These were the reasons given by the senators who spoke out against the approval of the project, among whom there were representatives
from Mendoza, Santa Fe and Salta.
"A single article in the law does not solve traffic problems. And the
drop in consumption is less production hectares, which also means fewer jobs
in an industry in which consumption has been falling dramatically," said Alfredo Cornejo, Senator and former Governor of Mendoza.
"This law modifies the present and the future of thousands of families. Some are represented in the boxes. It marks a before and after. It is a very important step for the beginning of a great cultural change that our society does or does need and
demands ",
expressed the senator from Formosa María Teresa González, of the Frente de Todos.
In the Province it already governs
On October 27 of last year, the Senate of the Province of Buenos Aires passed zero alcohol tolerance into law.
And the new regulation began to apply shortly after and during the summer.
The Buenos Aires law contemplates
up to 18 months of retention of the driver's license,
realization of awareness courses on the road risks of driving drunk and fines that can reach
up to 180 thousand pesos.
As for the City of Buenos Aires, since the project began to be discussed, the position of supporting its own legislation has been maintained, something that does not seem to change when the new law is promulgated.
From the Buenos Aires Government they maintain that the City
already toughened the sanctions last year
, when a modification of the Transit Code began to apply.
From then on, drivers who test positive lose their license between two months and two years.
The limit is 0.5 grams of alcohol per liter of blood for individuals and
zero for professionals and beginners
during the first two years.
In addition, the penalties increase if the alcohol dosage is higher.
Fines start at $10,292 and can exceed $150,000.
The most serious cases must take driver's education courses to recover the registration and attend
talks with relatives of traffic victims.
SC
look also
"Zero alcohol" at the wheel is already the law in half the country: which provinces require it this summer
Zero Alcohol Law: harsh claim to the Senate from relatives of victims of road accidents