The offense of driving a vehicle under the influence of drugs and road accidents

Abstract

In Romania, many of the road accidents are caused by people whose ability to drive is impaired by the consumption of psychoactive substances or alcohol. The number of deaths caused by people driving a car under the influence of alcohol or other substances is also worrying. What we consider important to highlight is the fact that in the case of consumption of psychoactive substances while driving, the legislator did not provide a minimum level of concentration of these substances in the blood, as evidenced in the case of alcohol consumption, which would point out that this crime would not have criminal relevance, leaving to the judgment of the judicial bodies the assessment of the evidence. We note that both the lack of express provisions for sanctioning the use of psychoactive substances while driving has led to an alarming increase in this criminal phenomenon, and the decisions of courts that do not detain people who commit such a crime, considering that it does not pose a social danger, encourages criminal phenomenon.