New Highway Code, record of licenses withdrawn from January: half for driving with the phone (and watch out for mini-sills)

Harker penalties, licensed licenses: the most restrictive highway code has led to an aggravation of the penalties towards motorists refractory to respect the rules. So three months after the entry into force of the new code, the traffic police has already withdrawn 16,432 licenses (for revocation or suspension), just under half of the 38 thousand withdrawn throughout 2024, reports the Sole 24 hours.

The municipal record numbers

Therefore a boom of measures that is creating many scratchers in the area, where the commands of the municipalities are struggling with different numbers than in recent years: In Rome, in the first two months of the year, 530 licenses were withdrawn, 77% more than the year before; In Milan 647, against 183 (from January to 15 March), the newspaper of Confindustria reports.

The other large cities

In Palermo in the first three months of implementation of the new highway code 267 retreats were made compared to the 85 of the same period of the previous year; in Bari 103, against 34 of the year before; In Bologna the increase is 60%; In Naples of 64.4%. In Florence it rose from 124 to 174 (+40%).

Driving with mobile phone

The penalties data reflect the increase in controls and the impact of the news introduced with the reform of the entered Highway Code in force on 14 December. The new rules predict, recalls the Sole 24 hours, A more rigor procedure in case of driving with the mobile phone: the infringement now provides for the immediate withdrawal of the licenseand within 15 days the prefecture must adopt the measure, establishing the duration (minimum 15 days without recurrence, with at least 20 points on the license).

The mini-sills

The guide with mobile phone, according to the traffic police data and carabinieri communicated in mid -March by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, is responsible for 50% of withdrawals carried out in the last three months. The new « mini-sunnels » rise to the numbers. In Milan in two and a half months, 157 mini-sills were applied; in Bologna 28 in three months; In Naples 87.

The case studies of short retreats

The short suspension applies to the motorists with less than 20 points on the driving document: In the event of an infringement, seven days between 19 and 10 points are triggered; 15 days for lower scores; with a doubling of the duration in the case of road accident (therefore 14 or 30 days). « At the end of November with less than twenty points there were just 824,380 licenses active out of a total of 39,484,491 (about 2.5%), therefore a reduced audience; explains the Sole 24 hours. But the cases of infringements for which the « short » retreats are off is wide: From overcoming to the right to the lack of precedence or to the passage with the red traffic light.