A draft bill, to toughen sentences for deaths caused by drunk driving and cell phone use got first reading in Panama’s  National  Assembly on  Tuesday, October 16.

Impaired driving and inattention (cell phone use) are listed as major contributors to the annual death toll on the country’s highways, already hovering above the 300 mark with hundreds hospitalized.

Lawyer Víctor Martínez said that articles 133 and 134 of the Penal Code will be reformed. Article 133 stipulates a penalty of 3 to 5 years for drunk driving and 3 to 6 years for accidents that cause wrongful death, if the driver is intoxicated,. Now it is requested to increase prison time from  5 to 9 years and at least double it in case of flight or opposing the breath test. Martinez said that the reform also includes that when an accident causes injuries or wrongful death while the driver is using a cell phone, the driver will have the same punishment as if under the influence of alcohol.

If a driver is arrested while under the influence of alcohol he will also be sanctioned, and a prison sentence must be served even if a pecuniary agreement is reached, "since the issue of paying does not exempt from criminal responsibility," said the lawyer.