Judges may send bad drivers back to school

BALEARIC judges are studying the possibility of sending bad drivers back to school in an innovative scheme proposed by the Palma city council.
Maite Jimenez, the Deputy Mayor in charge of safety, and Joan Feliu, the Local Police chief, had talks with Pere Barceló, dean of the judges to discuss the possibility. It is contemplated in the penal code, but up to now, no autonomous region has put it into practice. Bad driving is defined as ignoring speed limits, using mobile phones at the wheel, drunk driving, lack of attention or tiredness, all of which triplicate the risk of accidents. Barceló confirmed that some sentences could be replaced by road safety or driving classes, but he stressed that “the courts would have the last word.” The local and national authorities have been trying to tighten up traffic sanctions and recent sentences indicate that judges are singling out drivers who “show absolute disdain for the most elemental driving rules” and cause accidents, often fatal. The Balearics has the highest number of cars per inhabitant and the roads are often saturated.