by TCRN Staff
Legislators have now taken up the discussion of amending to the recent Traffic Act and have until Feb. 25 to approve changes, according to the number of sessions set for it by Congress in December last year.
The new law, which initially posed heavy fines and prison sentences for offenders, was badly drafted and had problems with consistency between articles and was not applicable.
Hence, the Legislators themselves who approved the reform in December presented a new project to correct it.
Members of the Citizens Action Party (PAC) question cuts to the fines and points system for driving related offenses under the influence of alcohol.
“We will present several motions, we are concerned that the penalties were down indiscriminately. There are penalties that are disproportionate, but the penalties for alcohol consumption should not be lower,” said the head of red and yellow fraction, Alberto Salom.
Meanwhile, the head of the Libertarian Movement Party bloc, Carlos Gutierrez, said the fines are necessary to streamline the new traffic law, provided they maintain a policy of “zero tolerance” to the combination of drinking and driving.
Gutierrez stressed that the fact that the libertarian congressman involved in a crash Ovid Aguero in 2008 while driving under the influence does not mean they changed their inflexible position on the issue.
Still, libertarians never took steps to internal party against Aguero.
“We are ready to help make the law workable, but with common sense, to punish the use of liquor, but provide space for people to work,” said Gutierrez, who noted that there are rules in the current wording that punish juveniles in a disproportionate manner.