On Tuesday, the Senate adopted a bill that provides for the elimination of the obligation of traffic participants to present the documents to the control when the data can be verified by the traffic police by accessing official databases.
The legislative proposal amends article 35 paragraph 2 of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 195/2002 regarding traffic on public roads.
“Traffic participants are obliged to present their identity document or, as the case may be, their driver’s license, the registration or registration document of the vehicle being driven, the documents related to the transported goods, as well as other documents provided by law, at the request of the traffic policeman. The obligation to present the documents is considered fulfilled if the related data can be verified by the traffic police by accessing the official databases“, states the adopted project, notes Agerpres.
Deputy Alexandru Dimitriu, one of the initiators of the project, stated that the amendment eliminates a sanction that is no longer justified under the conditions in which the authorities can verify the necessary information electronically.
“If you have a valid license and the car is legally registered, the police officer can check this information in seconds, directly in the databases. However, until now you could receive a fine of several hundred lei just for not having the documents on you“, he said on social networks.
According to the deputy, the project was supported by senators from almost all parliamentary groups.
The project passed the Senate, although it had a rejection report
The legislative initiative initially had a rejection report from the specialized commissions, but it was adopted in the Senate plenary with 52 votes for and 34 against.
The statement of reasons states that penalizing drivers only for the lack of documents in physical format, while the right to drive can be verified electronically, is “a form of excessive formalism incompatible with the demands of a modern state“.
The Senate is the first forum referred to in this case, and the final decision will belong to the Chamber of Deputies.
