The Ministry of Justice believes that there is a serious need for further review and analysis of the existing legislation. We are focused on determining possible amendments and additions to the laws, which will contribute to significantly strengthening road safety.
Minister of Justice, Igor Filkov, in his address to the public debate said: "Analysis and determination of the need to amend the legislation in order to strengthen traffic safety", pointed out that it is necessary to improve the penal provisions in relation to violators, supported by a detailed analysis of the practice of imposing and implementing penalties.
"When preparing amendments to the legislation, especially in the area of sanctions, it is necessary to ask the question: "Are the penalties for violators of traffic rules appropriate and rigorous enough to have a deterrent effect?"
This will help us identify which areas need to be strengthened with new legal measures, regarding to : alcohol, speed, the use of mobile phones and other risk factors”, said Minister Filkov.
Additionally, according to the Minister, certain traffic offenses should be regulated as criminal offenses. In this regard, it is necessary to initiate legal amendments that will expand the list of criminal offenses against traffic safety. This applies not only to serious crimes that involve a danger to people's lives and property, but also to offenses such as failure to provide assistance to a person injured in a traffic accident.
“The frequency of traffic offenses with a high degree of social danger, together with the low level of traffic culture in our society, create a strong need for tightening the penal policy. This will provide effective sanctions for offenders, which will have a deterrent effect and will help reduce traffic accidents and their serious consequences”, said Filkov.
The Minister informed that together, with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, judges from the Department for Misdemeanors at the Criminal Court in Skopje and university professors, they are working on the intensive implementation of the new legal amendments to the Law on Misdemeanors, the Law on Road Traffic Safety.
The new amendments and additions to the Law on Misdemeanors will include a special procedure for misdemeanors in the field of road traffic safety, which will apply to misdemeanors detected through electronic systems, such as the "safe city" system.
This system will enable quick and accurate determination of misdemeanors, which will reduce the number of accidents and ensure a faster reaction by the authorities. This innovation provides for short deadlines for proceedings before the court, which will speed up the justice process.
For perpetrators who appear in court for the third time, and in the case of serious violations, such as driving under the influence of alcohol or excessive speed, the court will impose a sanction that entails the termination of the validity of the driver's license. This will mean that the driver will not be able to obtain a new driver's license until one year has passed since the judgment became final.
All changes aim and strive to reduce the number of traffic accidents, especially those that result in fatalities, and to protect the lives of all road users.