Vehicular homicide, as of March 25 it’s the law

The same day, the first case occurred: the Carabinieri arrested a woman in Rome after she ran into a group of cyclists, killing one, and fleeing, to turn herself in later. The first precautionary measure applied dates from 28 March and refers to a man in Somma Vesuviana, aged 37 who, driving without a license, killed a 28-year-old man in a head-on collision. He was placed under house arrest.

• GALLERY GALLERY
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What the law contemplates – The penalties and charges are modulated according to the consequences of the accident, depending on whether it the driver is guilty of causing serious injury, grievous injury or death, with consequences on the term of imprisonment also depending on the state of alteration of the driver, and reckless driving. Greater severity is reserved for professional drivers. Imprisonment ranges from 3 months in case of serious injury up to 18 years for multiple homicides or hit-and-runs. There is also an accessory sanction of revocation of the license in case of a guilty verdict, from a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 30 years.

Reactions – A mixture of exultation and disappointment, which is true in our case too. On the one hand, a goal has finally been attained, on the other one has the impression that it could have been done better. Is 18 years too much for the more serious cases? How much will the attenuating circumstances count?

The European data on road safety – In the meantime, the European Commission has published the statistics for 2015 on road safety. It is true that the roads of Europe are still the safest in the world, but the reduction in the number of victims has slowed: 26,000 people lost their lives, 5,500 fewer than in 2010, but no improvement over 2014. 135,000 people were seriously injured. The social cost (rehabilitation, health care, material damages) for the fatalities and injuries is shocking: it is estimated to be at least 100 billion euro.