The new amendments set a minimum blood-alcohol level of 0.5 and levy set fines based on blood-alcohol content.
Those who have a blood-alcohol level of 0.5 to 1.0 will be fined between 100 and 250 lats ($156 and $390) and face a six-month driver's license suspension. The punishment for driving with a blood-alcohol level of 1.0 to 1.5 will be a fine of 200 to 350 lats and suspension of the driver's license for up to two years. If a driver's blood-alcohol level exceeds 1.5, the fine will be 300 to 450 lats and the license suspension will be for up to three years.
Juris Teteris, who heads the drivers testing department at the Ministry of Transport's road safety department, hopes the amended law will help curb Latvia's problem with drunk driving, which police believe causes dozens of deaths in the country every year.
"The new thing about these legal changes is that a driver will be fined and have his or her license suspended. Before, it was just either or," Teteris said.
Teteris' office is currently running a campaign to remind drivers about the last Midsummer holiday, when 25 people died and many more were injured in traffic accidents.
Parliamentarians have been pondering legislative changes to drunk driving laws for a while, but the spate of accidents, dubbed by the media as "the Bloody Midsummer," spurred the legislative changes.
Krists Leiskalns, spokesman for the state police, said that this year police will double efforts to detect drunk drivers.
"We are running a campaign from June 20 to 25 when we will pay extra attention to people who drink and drive," Leiskalns said.
He also said it is important for police officers to inform not only drivers but also passengers about their responsibilities.
"One of the most important things with the new punishments for drinking and driving is that they progress – the more you drink the more severe the punishment," he said.
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