The government on Monday announced a crackdown on drinking and driving after a series of headline-making incidents involving youngsters killed by drunk motorists.
"This is a real emergency," Transport Minister Alessandro Bianchi said, noting that road accidents claimed the lives of an average of 6,000 people per year.
According to official statistics, alcohol is a factor in 30-40% of all road accidents in Italy, which has one of the worst road safety records in Europe.
Over the past weekend, 36 people died in road accidents and 40 the previous weekend.
Bianchi said the statistics were "unacceptable in a civilised country" and urged parliament to speed up passage of a ministry bill which would introduce stiffer penalties for reckless and drunken driving.
Under the terms of the bill, which has already been approved by the House and now requires a Senate nod, drunk drivers face jail terms of up to two months, fines of up to 4,000 euros and driving bans ranging from three months to a year.
But after the latest incidents, including that of a 17-year-old girl killed by a drunk motorist with a history of drinking and driving, other ministers and the opposition said the bill should be made even tougher.
Interior Minister Giuliano Amato said that motorists caught drunk behind the wheel should have their vehicles confiscated.
The bill under Senate discussion would only allow the confiscation of a vehicle when the driver is caught under the influence of drugs.
Public Works Minister Antonio Di Pietro said that drunk motorists responsible for injuries or fatalities should be jailed.
"I'm sorry to say that repressive measures are required because there is a sense of impunity in Italy," the prosecutor-turned-politician said.
Welfare Minister Paolo Ferrero said he was working on a bill which would clamp down on advertising for alcoholic beverages, particularly spirits.
The minister said his bill, a draft version of which will be presented to the cabinet on Tuesday, includes a ban on TV and radio advertising for spirits and labels on alcoholic products warning of the dangers of drinking and driving.
RISING TOLL OF VICTIMS.
Italian newspapers on Monday carried photos of 17-year-old Claudia Muro who was hit and killed outside a disco in the northern town of Pinerolo on Saturday night by a drunk motorist.
The 30-year-old driver has had his licence suspended three times in the past for drunk driving.
The day before Muro's death, three children aged 6, 10 and 11 were killed in an accident on a motorway to the south of Naples caused by a drunk 24-year-old driver.
In another case at the end of June, four youngsters died near Cremona when their car was hit by an Albanian motorist who had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood.
The road safety bill drawn up by Minister Bianchi was originally prompted by the so-called 'Saturday Night Massacres' - late-night weekend crashes which often involve youngsters on a night out.
The bill introduces jail terms and heavy fines for those caught driving under the influence of drink or drugs, with the harshest penalties reserved for those responsible for accidents.
Some could be forced to perform a form of community service entailing the assistance of disabled road accident victims.
The bill also stiffens fines for motorists caught using their mobile phones, as well as overhauling a points system introduced by the previous, Silvio Berlusconi-led government.
The system gives each motorist 20 points and points are docked every time the motorist is caught breaching road regulations.
The bill reforms the system so that point deductions are tied more to careless driving. Under the current system, drivers can lose points for minor offences such as breaking parking regulations.
Police patrols and breathalyser tests will also be stepped up and the sale of alcohol could be banned in motorway shops and restaurants.
The opposition, meanwhile, accused the government of cutting resources for traffic police.
It said only 200,000 breathalyser tests were carried out per year in Italy compared to 11 million a year in France.
Road accidents are the top cause of death among Italians aged between 15 and 29.
The number of people killed on Italy's roads is 97 for every one million inhabitants compared to 92 in France, 71 in Germany and 56 in Britain.
A further 20,000 people in Italy are severely disabled and 300,000 injured in car accidents every year.
More than 44% of all night-time road accidents occur on a Friday or a Saturday night.
According to national statistics bureau Istat, the most dangerous time to be out on the road in Italy is between 10pm and 6am, when drivers are twice as likely to be killed.
In 2005, the latest year for Istat data availability, the figures broke down to an average 15 deaths a day with 860 injuries.
Drivers between the ages of 16 and 29 accounted for 30% of all road fatalities.
