{"id":4815,"date":"2022-11-10T15:44:43","date_gmt":"2022-11-10T13:44:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaj-law.ro\/?post_type=servicii&p=4815"},"modified":"2025-03-24T12:35:03","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T10:35:03","slug":"offenses-of-driving-without-a-license-driving-under-the-influence-of-alcohol-or-other-substances","status":"publish","type":"servicii","link":"https:\/\/blaj-law.ro\/en\/services\/criminal-law\/offenses-of-driving-without-a-license-driving-under-the-influence-of-alcohol-or-other-substances\/","title":{"rendered":"Offenses of driving without a license, driving under the influence of alcohol or other substances in Romania"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why should you be assisted by a <\/strong>criminal law lawyer in Romania<\/strong><\/a> before law enforcement authorities or in court?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

First of all, every person has the right to have a lawyer represent or assist them in any trial, whether civil or criminal. Criminal law is a legal field that comes with many challenges, and protecting the rights and interests of defendants requires substantial skills and expertise.<\/p>\n

Secondly, a Romania lawyer<\/a> provides you with the confidence you need in a criminal trial, as they can thoroughly analyze your case, identify its strengths and weaknesses, and build a smart defense strategy to achieve the best possible outcome.<\/p>\n

Driving without a License in Romania<\/h2>\n

The offense of driving without a license is incriminated by Article 335 of the Criminal Code<\/a>, which states that driving a motor vehicle without holding a driver’s license is punishable by imprisonment from 1 to 5 years. Additionally, entrusting a motor vehicle to a person who does not have the right to drive is also punishable.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, driving a motor vehicle by a person whose license is suspended, revoked, or withdrawn, or if their license is for a different category of vehicles than the one driven, may also constitute a criminal offense.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that the provisions analyzed cannot be dissociated from the rules contained in Emergency Ordinance no. 195\/2002 on road traffic, with its subsequent amendments and completions, which constitutes the framework regulation on public road traffic. Thus, we emphasize that the terms “motor vehicle,” “public road,” and “vehicle” are understood as follows:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Motor vehicle<\/em><\/strong> – any vehicle equipped with a propulsion engine, normally used for the transportation of persons or goods on the road or for towing vehicles used for the transportation of persons or goods. Vehicles that move on rails, called trams, as well as agricultural or forestry tractors, are not considered motor vehicles. Trolleybuses are considered motor vehicles;<\/p>\n

\u2022 Public road<\/em><\/strong> – any land communication route, except railways, specially arranged for pedestrian or vehicular traffic, open to public circulation; roads that are closed to public traffic are signposted at the entrance with visible inscriptions;<\/p>\n

\u2022 Vehicle<\/em><\/strong> – the mechanical system that moves on the road, with or without means of self-propulsion, normally used for the transportation of persons and\/or goods or for performing services or works.<\/p>\n

It is evident that, to meet the conditions for the offense, careful analysis of the factual circumstances in which the act was committed is required.<\/p>\n

One of our specialized criminal law lawyers in Romania<\/a>, particularly in traffic offenses, can represent and assist you at any stage of the criminal process, both before investigative authorities during the prosecution phase and in court.<\/p>\n

Driving under the Influence of Alcohol or Other Substances in Romania<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Driving under the influence of alcohol is a common problem in Romania.<\/p>\n

The provisions of positive criminal law incriminate, in Article 336 of the Criminal Code: (1) Driving on public roads of a vehicle for which the law requires a driver’s license by a person who, at the time of biological sample collection, has a blood alcohol concentration of more than 0.80 g\/l pure alcohol in the blood.<\/em> It is also stated that driving under the influence of alcohol is punishable by imprisonment from 1 to 5 years or a fine.<\/p>\n

Moreover, paragraph (2) of the same provision specifies: The same penalty applies to a person under the influence of psychoactive substances who drives a vehicle for which the law requires a driver’s license.<\/em><\/p>\n

At what alcohol level is a criminal case opened in Romania?<\/h3>\n

From the above, the following conclusions emerge: for an act to constitute a criminal offense, it is necessary for the person found in traffic to be under the influence of alcohol, with a blood alcohol concentration exceeding 0.80 g\/l pure alcohol in the blood, and\/or to be under the influence of psychoactive substances at the time of driving on public roads.<\/p>\n

If the alcohol concentration is less than 0.80 g\/l pure alcohol in the blood<\/strong>, driving under the influence of alcohol constitutes a contravention and is sanctioned under Article 102 paragraph (3) letter a) of Emergency Ordinance no. 195\/2002.<\/p>\n

In this context, we mention that Article 88 of Emergency Ordinance no. 195\/2002 states: (5) A person driving a vehicle for which the law requires a driver’s license, tested by a traffic police officer with a certified and metrologically verified technical device and found to have a concentration of up to 0.40 mg\/l pure alcohol in expired air, may<\/strong> request that biological samples be taken in the medical units or institutions specified in paragraph (1), to determine blood alcohol concentration.<\/em><\/p>\n

Furthermore, paragraph (6) specifies: “A person driving a vehicle for which the law requires a driver’s license, tested with a certified and metrologically verified technical device and found to have a concentration of more than 0.40 mg\/l pure alcohol in expired air, is required<\/strong> to submit to biological sample collection to determine blood alcohol concentration.”<\/em><\/p>\n

We also emphasize that if the vehicle driver refuses to accompany the police officers to the medical unit<\/strong> for biological sample collection, they will be charged with the offense of refusal or evasion of biological sample collection under Article 337 of the Criminal Code.<\/p>\n

Article 111 of Emergency Ordinance no. 195\/2002 states: (1) The driver’s license or its replacement document is retained in the following cases: b) when its holder has committed one of the offenses provided for in (\u2026) Article 336 of the Criminal Code.<\/em><\/p>\n

Additionally, paragraph (3) of the same article specifies that if the offense provided for in Article 336 of the Criminal Code is committed, the replacement document for the driver’s license is issued without the right to drive.<\/p>\n

Does driving under the influence of alcohol lead to license cancellation in Romania?<\/h3>\n

Article 114 of Emergency Ordinance no. 195\/2002 states that the cancellation of the driver’s license issued by the Romanian authority is ordered in the following situations:<\/p>\n

\u2022 when the license holder has been convicted by a final court decision for the offense provided for in Article 336 of the Criminal Code;
\n\u2022 the license holder has been imposed, by a final court decision, the complementary penalty of prohibiting the right to drive certain categories of vehicles established by the court under Article 66 paragraph (1) letter i) of the Criminal Code;
\n\u2022 the driver’s license was obtained while the holder was under investigation or trial in a criminal case for committing the offense provided for in Article 336 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code, when they were convicted by a final court decision.<\/p>\n

Moreover, when the holder of a driver’s license issued by a foreign authority is convicted by a final court decision for the offense provided for in Article 336 of the Criminal Code or has been imposed, by a final court decision, the complementary penalty of prohibiting the right to drive certain categories of vehicles under Article 66 paragraph (1) letter i) of the Criminal Code, Article 1141 of Emergency Ordinance no. 195\/2002 stipulates that a driving ban on Romanian territory for a period of 1 year applies, starting the day after the court decision becomes final.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why should you be assisted by a criminal law lawyer in Romania before law enforcement authorities or in court? First of all, every person has the right to have a lawyer represent or assist them in any trial, whether civil or criminal. Criminal law is a legal field that comes with many challenges, and protecting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2954,"parent":4807,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-4815","servicii","type-servicii","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","layout_category-criminal-law"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blaj-law.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/servicii\/4815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blaj-law.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/servicii"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blaj-law.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/servicii"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blaj-law.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/servicii\/4807"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blaj-law.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blaj-law.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}