Hungarian high court to push for uniform drunk-driving laws

Hungary's Supreme Court wants to harmonize the different measures taken by counties across the country to combat drunk driving, writes Népszabadság.

The move follows criticisms from officials of the Pest County Court, who say that punishments for drunk driving are usually not strict enough.

In the majority of drunk driving cases prosecuted in Hungary, the offender has to pay a fine, usually below Ft 100,000 (€433). Other penalties, such as communal work or imprisonment, are rare, while temporarily banning drivers from the roads who are convicted of drunk driving is a supplemental sanction in most cases, and is applied unevenly.

According to head of the Penal Body of the Pest County Court, László Miszori, prosecutors rarely appeal courts' decisions on penalties when they are considered too lenient.

Courts in every county file reports about the measures they take against motorists caught driving while intoxicated. According to a report by the Pest County Court covering related cases in 2007, only 3.25% of the offenders were female, and alcohol was involved in virtually all of the 1,290 DUI cases, with only four motorists sanctioned for being under the influence of illegal drugs or prescription medications.

And despite the fact that only seven of the 1,290 cases in Pest County involved underage drinkers, the judges believe that such offenders should be automatically banned from the roads, rather than put on probation.

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