{"id":5549,"date":"2025-07-21T10:32:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T07:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spiliopouloslaw.com\/%cf%87%cf%89%cf%81%ce%af%cf%82-%ce%ba%ce%b1%cf%84%ce%b7%ce%b3%ce%bf%cf%81%ce%af%ce%b1\/new-highway-code-what-changes-does-it-introduce\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T12:32:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T09:32:05","slug":"new-highway-code-what-changes-does-it-introduce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spiliopouloslaw.com\/en\/legal-issues-for-individuals\/new-highway-code-what-changes-does-it-introduce\/","title":{"rendered":"New Highway Code \u2013 What Changes Does It Introduce?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>The new Highway Code introduces a series of changes related to speed limits, driving under the influence of alcohol, mobile phone use, repeat offenders, etc.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>More specifically, the first and very important change in the new Highway Code concerns the criminalization of certain high-risk violations, such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Using a mobile phone while driving that causes an accident<\/li>\n<li>Speeding<\/li>\n<li>Failure to yield to railway vehicles<\/li>\n<li>Running red lights<\/li>\n<li>Driving under the influence of alcohol, addictive substances, or other prohibited substances<\/li>\n<li>Driving without a license<\/li>\n<li>Not wearing a seatbelt<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The use of a mobile phone while driving is now taken very seriously by the law, with penalties structured as follows:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fines up to \u20ac4,000 on the second offense<\/li>\n<li>License suspension for up to 8 years<\/li>\n<li>Criminal charges if the behavior causes an accident<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Similarly, driving under the influence of alcohol is now punished depending on the level of the offense (moderate or severe), with license suspension for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Up to 10 years, and<\/li>\n<li>A fine ranging from \u20ac1,000 to \u20ac4,000 respectively<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In cases of severe intoxication, mandatory immobilization and impoundment of the vehicle is imposed, and criminal prosecution is activated.<\/p>\n<p>In cases of not wearing a helmet or seatbelt:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A fine of \u20ac350 is imposed,<\/li>\n<li>License suspension for 30 days,<\/li>\n<li>A fine of \u20ac1,000 and license suspension for 6 months if the violation is repeated a second time,<\/li>\n<li>A fine of \u20ac2,000 and license suspension for 12 months if the violation is repeated a third time,<\/li>\n<li>A fine of \u20ac350 is imposed on the passenger not wearing a helmet or seatbelt.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Violation of a STOP sign results in:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A fine of \u20ac350,<\/li>\n<li>License suspension for one month,<\/li>\n<li>A fine of \u20ac1,000 and license suspension for 6 months if the violation occurs a second time,<\/li>\n<li>On the third offense, the fine increases to \u20ac2,000 and the license is suspended for one year,<\/li>\n<li>In case of an accident, the provisions of the Penal Code regarding dangerous driving apply.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Running a red light:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fines start at \u20ac700 and the driver\u2019s license is immediately suspended for 2 months,<\/li>\n<li>Fines can reach up to \u20ac4,000 with license suspension for up to 8 years,<\/li>\n<li>If the driver causes a fatal accident, the penalties under the Penal Code apply.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Driving without a license:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A fine of \u20ac1,000 and removal of the vehicle&#8217;s license plates for one month,<\/li>\n<li>Imprisonment of up to 2 years is possible,<\/li>\n<li>On the second offense, the fine increases to \u20ac2,000 and the license is suspended for 4 years,<\/li>\n<li>On the third offense, the fine increases to \u20ac4,000 and the license is suspended for 8 years,<\/li>\n<li>In case of an accident, the Penal Code provisions for dangerous driving apply.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>New speed limits introduced by the new Highway Code:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A new speed limit of 30 km\/h in residential areas,<\/li>\n<li>The maximum allowed speed within residential zones is set at 30 km\/h,<\/li>\n<li>On one-way streets with at least two lanes separated by longitudinal markings, and on two-way streets with at least two lanes per direction separated by longitudinal markings, as well as on two-way streets with a dividing island, the maximum allowed speed is set at 50 km\/h.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The new Highway Code introduces a series of changes related to speed limits, driving under the influence of alcohol, mobile phone use, repeat offenders, etc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_meta":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[526],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal-issues-for-individuals"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"spiliopouloslaw","author_link":"https:\/\/www.spiliopouloslaw.com\/en\/author\/spiliopouloslaw\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spiliopouloslaw.com\/en\/category\/legal-issues-for-individuals\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Legal Issues for Individuals<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"The new Highway Code introduces a series of changes related to speed limits, driving under the influence of alcohol, mobile phone use, repeat offenders, etc.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spiliopouloslaw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spiliopouloslaw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spiliopouloslaw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spiliopouloslaw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spiliopouloslaw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5549"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.spiliopouloslaw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5550,"href":"https:\/\/www.spiliopouloslaw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5549\/revisions\/5550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spiliopouloslaw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spiliopouloslaw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spiliopouloslaw.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}