We are in a time when the rate of drunk drivers at the wheel increases a lot, unfortunately, putting the lives of occupants and third parties at risk, in addition to their own, seeming to have no more value than a few shots of alcoholic beverages…
The problem is worldwide and in places like Latvia, a recent measure aims to discourage the practice of drinking and driving with measures like the one recently approved by the government in Riga, the country’s capital.
The idea is to send the cars learned from drunk drivers to Ukraine, where they will be handed over to the country’s army in its fight against the Russian invasion in the east.
Over there, Ukrainians are converting civilian cars into military vehicles to help in the country’s year-long war.
Krišjānis Kariņ, Prime Minister of Latvia, presented the proposal to confiscate these vehicles, caught and seized in police checkpoints across the country.
The Latvian Ministry of Finance is analyzing the proposal and is expected to approve it and will have the support of a local movement that has already donated more than 1,000 cars to the Ukrainian Army.
A Latvian government spokesman said: “Now they are seeing lack of cars to continue their good deed at the same speed.”
He added: “Therefore, we believe that cars confiscated from drunk drivers in Latvia would complement this great initiative.”
In Latvia, being caught drunk has some implications for the driver, if he has a blood alcohol concentration above 0.15%.
In this case, the vehicle is confiscated by the government and it is put up for auction through the State Revenue Service, however, with the new rule, this changes radically and they will be sent free of charge to Ukrainians.
With the Latvian penal code amended last year to increase punishments for drunk drivers, the country is now finding a way to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
Several civilian cars from various origins, including the UK, are said to be being converted in Ukraine to be used in combat or as protection against mortars and shells.
[Fonte: Business Insider]