NEWS

31/10/2019

10:15

WKK:

We're Submitting a Bill to Hold Drunk Drivers Who Cause Accidents Significantly More Accountable

Michał Olech

We are launching our legislative offensive, and one of the first bills we are submitting, which we are presenting today, concerns driver responsibility. Last year, 370 people died on Polish roads as a result of accidents caused by individuals under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicating substances. Approximately 3,000 people were injured. These are enormous numbers. It's a tragedy for families, the suffering of the sick, the injured. It means losses and health impairments, the loss of life in the worst-case scenario, and long months of rehabilitation. It also represents enormous losses related to psychological well-being, often leading to depression and irreversible consequences of accidents caused by individuals under the influence of alcohol and other intoxicating substances. Therefore, we are introducing a bill under which every driver operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicating substances, if they cause an accident, will bear much greater responsibility than today. They will be obliged to cover the costs of treatment for the injured person, and if the perpetrator of the accident suffers health impairments, they will also bear the costs of treatment and rehabilitation for both the victim and themselves. This is a necessity. Penalties must be tightened, fines increased in Poland, and truly strong preventative measures must be taken to deter and prevent situations where a car is driven under the influence of alcohol. We need to say: stop drunk drivers - stated Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz during a briefing in the Sejm.

Michał Olech