The Government Wednesday approved amendments to the Penal Code, introducing legal penalties for driving a vehicle after drinking too much alcohol, Info-Prim Neo reports. The amendments apply to drunk drivers that will have 0.8% of alcohol in blood and 0.4% in air vapors as well as to the drivers that will drive under the influence of drugs, will consciously give the vehicle to a person that is seriously drunk and will refuse to take the alcohol test. Deputy Minister of the Interior Valentin Zubic said that the drunk drivers are now fined up to 25 convention units (a c.u. is equal to 20 lei) and deprived of the right to drive a vehicle for a short period of time. The seriously drunk motorists, regardless of the substance that caused the state (alcohol or narcotic substances), will be fined 400 to 500 conventional units, punished with community service of 200 to 240 hours, and deprived of the right to drive a car for a period of 3-5 years. For giving the car to a person that is seriously drunk, the owner of the vehicle will be liable to the abovementioned penalties. The executive also toughened up the punishments stipulated in article 264 of the Penal Code. They concern the drunk driving that causes road accidents with serious consequence (death or severe bodily injuries). In such cases, the culprits will be fined up to 1,000 conventional units, punished with community service of 200 to 240 hours and deprived of the driver’s license for a period of 5 years. Zubic said the penalties have been toughened up because the number of traffic accidents that result and deaths and serious injuries is on the rise.