It is clear that driving a motor vehicle (such as a car or motorcycle) while under the influence of alcohol is a dangerous and deeply socially unacceptable behavior. For this reason, as part of subsequent amendments to the Criminal Code, the legislator extended the scope of penalties and penal measures for this crime (as defined in Article 178a paragraph 1 of the Penal Code). Currently, its perpetrator is exposed to:
- a penalty of restriction of liberty or imprisonment for up to 2 years;
- obligation to pay a cash benefit of at least PLN 5,000;
- a driving ban for at least 3 years.
This third consequence is particularly acute for many perpetrators of such crimes. In many situations, the best solution is to apply for a conditional discontinuation of the proceedings, which (apart from the lack of the penalty itself) allows the amount of the cash benefit to be reduced to PLN 1,000, and the period of the driving ban to 1 year. However, the jurisprudence of courts means that (due to the commonly accepted significant social harmfulness of such an action), the conditional discontinuation of proceedings in cases under Art. 178a par. 1 of the Criminal Code is obtained extremely rarely.
