Additional amendments of the Road Safety Law (Law 174/1986) and of the Out of Court Law (Law 47(I)/1997) were recently adopted and are in force as from the 1st of October, 2020, as regards drink driving (driving under the influence of alcohol).

Now, there are gradations as regards the out of court fines, which mount to 125 – 250 – 500 euros, depending on the seriousness of the violation (instead of 100 – 200 – 300 euros). These gradations apply for the standard drink drive limit, which is 22 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, enforced by a number of mobile police units or 50 milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood.

Similarly, for the first time, the members of the Police may issue an out of court fine, for those categories of drivers, for whom the special limit applies, which is 9 micrograms of alcohol in 100 milliliters of breath or 20 milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood. These special categories of drivers are:

Persons who have been holders of a driving license for less than three years, learner drivers, persons driving motorbikes, motorcycles, tricycles, quadricycles, drivers of lorries of a maximum weight that exceeds 3.5 tons, drivers of buses with more than eight passenger seats, not including the driver’s seat, taxi drivers when driving on duty, drivers of vehicles that carry dangerous goods and persons who received a driving ban by a Court of Justice during the last 3 years (from the date of the court decision).

These gradations, also, mount to 125 – 250 – 500 euros, depending on the seriousness of the violation.

When a case is going to be forwarded before a Court of Justice, the penalties are harsher than before:

A fine up to €1.500 (instead of €1.000) or a driving ban up to three months, plus 1 – 3 penalty points are the lightest penalties and the heaviest are: two years’ imprisonment or a fine of €10.000 (instead of €5.000) or a driving ban up to two years (instead of one year), plus 5 – 10 penalty points on the driver’s licence (instead of 3 – 6 p. points) or all of the above or any of the above.

At the same time, the strictest / heaviest penalties apply when someone does not co – operate with the police and does not give any sample of breath. Moreover, in case a person is convicted again during the first three years since the previous conviction, the court may impose double penalties. 

SPEED

Additional amendments of the Motor Vehicles and Traffic Law (Law 86/1972) and of the Out of Court Law (Law 47(I)/1997) were recently adopted and are in force as from the 1st of October, 2020, as regards the violation of speed limits.

Now, there are gradations in the out of court fines, which mount to 2 – 3 – 5 euros per Km violated, depending on the seriousness of the violation (instead of 1 – 2 – 3 euros). It depends on the seriousness of the violation. 

When the cases are going to be forwarded before a Court of Justice, the penalties are harsher than before:

A fine up to €4.000 (instead of €1.000) or a driving ban up to 3 months or one-year imprisonment, plus 4 – 8 penalty points (instead of 3 – 6) or all the above or any of the above.

In case of recurrence of the same offence within 3 years from the conviction, a driving ban for at least 2 months, also, applies.

In case there is a violation of the speed limit under the influence of alcohol or drugs: imprisonment up to 4 years or a penalty up to €15.000 or both sanctions apply. 

In case of recurrence of the combined offences within 3 years from the conviction, a doubling of penalties and a driving ban for at least 2 months apply.