New highway code, the debate in Nel Mirino: “We need more officers on the street”

“In the Viewfinder” put the new Highway Code, prepared by the Meloni government, already approved in the Chamber and waiting to be approved in the Senate, which seems destined to come into force in a few months. We talked about rules and common sense, without which the rules are of little use, but also starting from the data brought by one of the guests at the Rotative Space, Matteo Rampoldiinspector of the accident unit of the local police of Piacenza.

The data

In the city, for example, in 2023, 56 accidents occurred in via Emilia Pavese. No other street or street in our city has such a high number of them. Behind it is Via Emilia Parmense, with 47 accidents, while 45 occurred on the southern ring road and the Farnesiana. The total number of accidents was 1,123, with 2,291 people involved. Two accidents were fatal, while a third caused injuries that led to the death of the injured person within a month. As regards pedestrians and cyclists, collected by the statistics under the heading “weak users”, 58 accidents occurred for the former and 176 for the latter, of which two were fatal.

Starting from this context, with increasing trends regarding accident rates in the first months of 2024, moderated by the presenter Nicoletta Bracchi and by the journalist Thomas Trenchithe commander of the local police Valchero-Valnure, Paul Giovannini, Angelo Nani who is president of FiabAmolabici, Andrea Repetti, instructor at the Piacenza driving school, and Rampoldi himself commented on the new rules. However, starting from Giovannini’s premise.

“There is a lack of men on the streets – says the commander – for example we count on 18 agents in an area of ​​40 thousand inhabitants, while the regional norm provides for one agent per thousand inhabitants. As a result, we currently only count on 50% of the force we would need.” There are many changes to the code envisaged: they range from tightening penalties for those who drive after using drugs and alcohol, to sanctions for those who drive while talking on their cell phones. In this sense, anyone caught in the act will have fines ranging from 250 euros (today they are 165) up to a maximum of 1,000 euros for the first infringement, in addition to the suspension of their driving license for a period of between 15 and 60 days.

“Having said that the tightening of penalties is useful as a deterrent – says instructor Repetti – Istat data say that distraction is the first cause of accidents and the cell phone is the emblem of distraction”.

Another novelty is the alcohol lock, a device installed in authorized workshops that prevents the vehicle from starting if the driver’s blood alcohol level exceeds zero. “A useful tool – says Giovannini – even if a person might have the availability of two vehicles”.

Nani also complains about a lack in the new Highway Code: “Today we see electric bicycles traveling at 40 kilometers per hour. But they are no longer bicycles, but rather motorcycles, so I would have expected a regulation in this sense.” Inevitable that the discussion then turned to scooters. “Often a danger to mobility – says Rampoldi – they circulate in the same areas as bicycles, but there is a difference: compared to those of bicycles, the size of the wheels of scooters is much smaller”. Everyone present agrees on the importance of informing and prevention. But to help limit accidents, it was recalled, a good dose of common sense would be useful as always.