Watch Those Driver's Points

Even in Italy, the threat of losing one's licence helps prevent accidents

Hurrying is often a consideration, especially when one steps on the gas pedal a little too heavily. But try and say that to the officer who just stopped you and is now proceeding, mincing very few words, to take a few points off your licence. It doesn't matter whether the officer in question belongs to Italy's Carabinieri or to the Toronto Police; points exist both in Italy and in Canada, and losing them is every driver's nightmare. Watching them disappear, a few at a time, could result in a trip down memory lane: not growing young again but, simply put, being forced to take the bus.
Once upon a time, people collected points from the gas station, or the supermarket, in order to win gifts: perhaps a set of china, or a mug with the logo of an oil company -- fetishes of an age of consumerism. Nowadays, points have become a much more serious affair, because we're talking about those affecting one's driving licence. This mechanism has been in force for decades in Canada, but it's a recent novelty for Italians.
In Italy, in fact, graduated licencing was introduced with the new Road Code, in June 2003, about l40 years after Canada. Hardly a wondrous discovery, one might say. But, it works, as statistics show. Over the past year and a half, accidents have steadily, if not dramatically, reduced in number. A couple of weeks ago, Italian police and Carabinieri presented their data: in 2004, road accidents claimed 386 fewer victims, down about 9.4 percent from the previous year. Not bad. Injuries have also diminished by 6.4 percent. That's not huge, but it's something. In 2003, with graduated licencing freshly introduced, there was another 10-percent decrease in deaths. That means that in the course of two years, road-accident victims diminished by over a fifth.
Italian driving licences come with 20 points. Many violations, however, can make you lose 10 points at once; i.e., speeding by over 40 kph, passing a stopped streetcar or bus, passing near a crossroads, driving on the wrong side of the road, or driving while intoxicated with alcohol or recreational drugs. Five points can be lost for not respecting precedence, four for chatting on a cell phone while driving. In summary, losing all 20 points is not that difficult, and a police officer will seize your licence with an apologetic smile.
The only way to get your licence back, in Italy, is to go back to driving school and attend courses that restore lost points.
As for Canada, in this case things are not very different. Penalties are very similar, while the mechanism for restoring points is possibly a little more flexible. The system itself, of course, is more tested, having been in use - albeit with updates - since the Sixties. "The initial point pool," explained Tony Spinosa, owner of Alba Driving School in Toronto, "is 15 points, and the maximum one can lose is 7; for instance, if one leaves the scene of an accident before aid has arrived, or doesn't obey police orders to stop. Six points are lost for not yielding to a schoolbus or speeding over 50 kph. This system has been in place for the past 40 years, but its present form dates to June 1994."
Bigger differences between the two countries concern the restoration of lost points. "If one loses all 15 points," continued Spinosa, "the licence is suspended for 30 days. After the month is over, the driver gets seven points back. In short, the driver's credit is halved." There's more: one can arrange a hearing with Ministry of Transportation officials, to state reasons why his or her licence should not be suspended. Good luck with that, though.
Interestingly, in Italy the situation was somewhat complicated recently by a ruling by the Constitutional Court. It was deciding on an issue raised by numerous lower judges who had been confronted by people who had lost points without ever actually violating the Code. The ruling states that points can be lost only when the driver is positively identified; earlier on, many law-abiding grandfathers had lost points instead of their less-disciplined grandchildren. From now on, vehicle owners will not be penalized for lending their cars to imprudent friends or relatives. However, the Supreme Court upheld the obligation for the owners to provide, within 30 days, personal data and the licence number of anyone who had been driving when the Code violation was ascertained. Failing that, the owners will be fined. Consumer associations have announced a hail of appeals, adding to the 150,000-200,000 people already awaiting resolution.
I would bet that suddenly many a violator will remember lending the car on a given day and time to a particular relative or friend. Just kidding, of course.

Publication Date: 2005-02-06
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4895