Italy cracks down on bad drivers

Poor visibility caused this crash in March

Italian drivers are facing stiffer penalties as the government attempts to make roads safer.

As of this week, drivers will receive a stock of 20 points which will be reduced if they commit offences.

Those who lose all their points will have to take a refresher course, which gives them an opportunity to get some points back.

The 20 points are excellent, but we will use them all up within a few days

Motorist

The code will also raise the speed limit on some major routes from 130 to 150 kilometres per hour, while reducing it to 110 km/h during poor weather conditions.

Scooter riders between the ages of 14 and 18, meanwhile, will from 2004 have to apply for licences and will be obliged to wear helmets.

POINTS OFF

Using a mobile phone - 4

Not wearing a seatbelt - 5

Jumping a red light - 5

Exceeding the speed limit by more than 40 km/h - 5

Not keeping a safe distance - 5

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs - 10

Overtaking on a bend - 10

Failing to offer assistance after an accident - 10

Penalties will increase for lorry drivers caught drunk or failing to take compulsory rests - foreign drivers could even have their lorries impounded.

New drivers caught driving without seatbelts twice will lose all their points.

The new rules received a mixed reaction from motorists.

"The 20 points are excellent, but we will use them all up within a few days," one driver told the RAI Uno TV channel.

"This is one of those typical Italian blunders," said another. "There is nothing to add."

Almost 6,700 people died on Italian roads in 2001, 0.5% more than in the previous year.

The new rules come months after a pile-up in north-eastern Italy in which 12 people died, an accident described by police as one of the country's worst.