one the changes in the penal code are intended to put an end to the practice of ‘drinking to calm’ just after an accident, which is sometimes authorised by the police.
In the Act of 13 June 2019 amending the Act - Criminal Code and some other laws has been amended by the provision Article 178(1), which is replaced by the following: Article 173, Article 174 or Article 177 being intoxicated or under the influence of an intoxicating agent, has fled the scene of the incident, or has consumed an alcoholic beverage or has taken a drug after the event, and before being subjected to an examination by a qualified authority to determine in the body the amount of alcohol or the presence of an alcohol-like agent, the court shall rule on the custodial sentence provided for for in respect of a criminal offence of an amount greater than the lower limit of the statutory risk increased by half, and in the event of a crime specified in Article 177(2) not less than 2 years, to the upper limit of this risk increased by half."
The legislator clearly wanted to end the practice of drinking alcohol for "relaxation" immediately after the event, sometimes even in the presence of police officers. It is difficult to determine the amount of alcohol in the blood at the time of the crime, if a portion of alcohol was accepted shortly before the event, and another - moments after the event
The above-mentioned provision has been supplemented by the obligation laid down in Article 44(2)(3) Road traffic laws, according to which the driver who caused the accident is required to refrain from consuming the abovementioned substances until the arrival of the police patrol and have it examined to determine the alcohol or alcohol-like agents in the body.
The legislator clearly wanted to end the practice of drinking alcohol for "relaxation", immediately after the event, sometimes even in the presence of police officers. It is difficult to determine what its blood content was in the course of a crime when the alcoholic beverage was consumed shortly before the event and another portion of alcohol was accepted just after the event.
Unfortunately, it happens that a person who is intoxicated and causes a communication accident or a disaster in communication immediately after the incident consumes alcohol, of course in the presence of as many witnesses as possible and sometimes even in the presence of police. Such a person is often less responsible in court, as experts cannot always determine what alcohol was in the blood at the time of the incident, and the norm specified in Article 5(2) The Code of Criminal Procedure requires that the doubts in the defendant's favour be resolved without being removed.
Therefore, the legislator added to the catalogue the conditions for tightening the penalty against traffic offenders, and this behaviour is treated as an equivalent to an escape from an accident or driving a vehicle in an intoxicated or intoxicated state.
The penalty for such acts must not be lower than 2 years and depending on the effects should range to 4 years and 6 months of imprisonment in the event of an offence specified in Article 177 k.k (cause of accident), a to 22 years and 6 months of imprisonment in the event of an offence specified in Article 173 k.k.
(a disaster in land traffic with fatal effect).