Hit-and-run accidents grow in Italy

There have been 61 deaths caused by hit-and-run accidents in Italy in the first semester of 2015, and many of those who provoked the accidents were found to be driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The number of serious casualties reached 484 between January and June of this year, 4.3 percent more compared to the same period in 2014, said a study by ASAPS, an association promoting road safety which groups police and civil society members, released earlier this week.

Foreigners who provoked the accidents made up 27.1 percent of the total, while foreigners among the victims were 10.5 percent. Female hit-and-run drivers were 8.8 percent compared to 10.1 percent in the first semester of last year.

ASAPS also noted that more than half of the victims of the January-June period were passers-by, 43.5 percent more compared to the same period in 2014, while those found to have been driving under the influence of drugs grew by more than 55 percent.

Northern developed regions, namely Lombardy and Veneto, were the most hit, followed by Lazio in central Italy.

In 2014 hit-and-run accidents left as many as 119 people dead and 1,224 injured. "Although road accidents in general are registering a slow decrease, there are no positive indicators as regards hit-and-run casualties," President of ASAPS Giordano Biserni told Xinhua commenting on the figures on Friday.

Among the latest cases there was that of a woman who earlier this week turned herself in to police after killing a Tunisian national in a hit-and-run casualty in Sicily. The female driver told police she had not seen the victim walking in the dark on a provincial road.

Under the current legislation, Biserni stressed, for a series of reasons it is paradoxically more convenient for drivers to run away after an accident. The number of vehicles in circulation without insurance, currently some 4 million cars, or around 9 percent of the total in Italy - according to the national association of insurance companies ANIA - contributes to the phenomenon.

Only by introducing the crime of road murder, which involves the death of an individual other than the driver as a result of criminally negligent driving and is not currently included in the Italian criminal code, Italy could stem the growing number of deadly hit-and-run accidents, Biserni told Xinhua.

The crime of road murder, which was passed by the Senate in June and could win final approval of parliament by the end of the year, provides for a jail term of up to 12 years for motorists who kill someone while driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and further terms in case of aggravating factors.

"In particular, the new law would also mandate a 30-year suspension on the driving license of any hit-and-run driver who causes a death while speeding and is under the effect of substances or alcohol," Biserni explained to Xinhua.

He finally stressed the importance of prevention in addressing the problem, not only through media and school campaigns, but also through more checkpoints on roads and stricter punishments.

"Drunk-driving tests have already increased from 200,000 in 2006 to 1.9 million in 2013, but still it is not enough. To quote one of our campaigns, 'it is better that a child comes home without a license than a license without a child," Biserni stressed.