Drivers traveling in the wrong direction on the highway could lose their license for three years

Drivers traveling the wrong way on motorways or expressways could lose their licenses and be barred from taking the test to obtain a new license for three years. The measure is included in a legislative bill registered with the Senate on September 23 and seeks to toughen penalties for one of the most dangerous traffic violations.

Currently, driving the wrong way on these categories of roads is punishable by a fine in the fourth class and a 120-day suspension of the right to drive. The bill proposes that the license be revoked as an additional contraventional penalty, and that the driver be barred from taking a new test for three years from the date the penalty becomes final.

The initiative also provides for an amendment to Article 114 of Emergency Ordinance No. 195/2002, so that the license is revoked when the holder is penalized for driving the wrong way on a motorway or expressway, under the new regulations.

The authors of the bill cite the growing number of incidents and the high speeds reached on these roads. In the initiators’ view, a head-on collision can have extremely serious consequences, while the proposed penalty would remove from traffic drivers who directly endanger the lives of other road users. The bill still has to go through the legislative procedure and does not apply for the time being.