With the presence of relatives of victims of road accidents, the Chamber of Deputies gave half sanction to the Zero Alcohol at the Wheel project, which was carried out between the Ministry of Transport, Health and Sedronar, with 194 affirmative votes, 18 negative and 4 abstentions. The initiative provides for the modification of Article 48 of Traffic Law No. 24,449, which currently contemplates that those who drive any type of vehicle have a tolerance of up to 500 milligrams (0.5) of alcohol per liter of blood. The approved project establishes the prohibition of driving any type of vehicle with a blood alcohol level greater than 0 milligrams per liter of blood throughout the national territory.
Currently, there are 10 Argentine provinces that have Zero Alcohol at the Wheel legislation.
The text was agreed among numerous proposals presented by deputies from different blocs. However, only three legislators – Jimena Latorre (UCR), Germana Figueroa Casas (Pro) and Maximiliano Ferraro (CC-ARI) – signed a minority opinion that suggests maintaining 0.5 g / l of alcohol in blood, but with a hardening of penalties and sanctions for those offenders who do not comply with the regulations, based on the Mendoza model. Wine province where there are objections to move forward with the total ban. The head of the Transportation Commission, Jorge Rizzotti (UCR) from Jujuy, explained that a modification to the Traffic Law, in its article 48, is being discussed and remarked that “this opinion of the Commission is the product of a work of agreement and commitment of the representatives of all the benches. This has surpassed the unproductive work that is given by the famous ‘crack’.” And he clarified: “It is far from being a law against alcohol consumption. It has nothing to do with the prohibition not of drinking, but of not driving when alcohol has been consumed, “in response to some voices that already in the committee meeting affirmed that this modification was against the industry. For her part, Mendoza deputy Jimena Latorre (UCR) supported her minority opinion by pointing out that “addressing such a serious and sensitive issue without the responsibility of the case makes us fall into demagoguery, into the pettiness of using legitimate social demands to raise slogans, but not to fulfill our work which is to legislate by sanctioning laws that are tools for transforming those realities, and that they be solutions to those social demands.” It is demagoguery to change the tolerance of blood alcohol allowed for driving, without changing the penalties for those who violate such tolerance. It is to prohibit without the possibility of punishing, “fired the legislator of the wine province and added: “The modification of a single article of Law 24,449 is the only thing for which the maturity of the agreement reached. Agreement on a title, a slogan, and not on an efficient policy, not for a solution to road accidents. It is really regrettable, because agreeing on the need to address the problem and give it a solution, they choose the easy path and that of lies.” In addition to the modification of the Traffic Law, the relatives of victims of road accidents had asked in March the then head of the Chamber of Deputies, Sergio Massa, the modification of the Criminal Code in the figure of road crimes.
