A Chinese woman in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of Italy was found by the traffic police to not understand Italian while driving, and her driver's license was eventually revoked.
Italy's Ilgazzettino reported that in November last year, a Chinese woman in Rovigo Province was inspected by the traffic police while traveling by car. Because the woman did not wear glasses as required, the traffic police were ready to issue a fine to her. However, during the communication, the traffic police discovered that she did not understand Italian.
According to the inspection report issued by the traffic police at the time, in addition to violating the provisions of the Road Traffic Law regarding the use of glasses, the woman also showed "serious difficulties in understanding Italian", so much so that "she needed to call her daughter" in order to communicate.
As a result, the Rovigo Provincial DMV made a decision in March of this year to request that the woman's driver's license be reviewed. This means that she must retake the driver's license test.
Subsequently, the woman filed a complaint with the Administrative Court of the Veneto Region.
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During the trial, the woman's defender pointed out that the documents issued by the traffic control office did not have a Chinese translation, so the woman could not understand the contents.
However, the Regional Administrative Court held that, firstly, the complainant had admitted his language problem. At the same time, the appeal shows that it has understood the substance of the decision on the examination of the driver's license.
The woman's counsel then further argued that not knowing Italian could not constitute "evidence of unsatisfactory driving skills". And the law also does not stipulate that "language proficiency is a necessary condition for obtaining a driver's license, let alone holding one". Therefore, not knowing the language should not be a reason to revoke a driver's license.
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However, to the disadvantage of the woman, the traffic department pointed out during the trial that the woman had other violations before: in 2019, 2020, and 2021, she was deducted 3 points for speeding.
According to the Regional Administrative Court, it was this "large number of demerit points", combined with the woman's language skills, that prompted the DMV to make the decision to approve the driver's license.
And language is still a necessity anyway, because the driver's license test in Italy is conducted in Italian. To get a driver's license, one must pass a theory test in Italian to be eligible for a road test.
In the end, the Administrative Court of the Veneto Region agreed with the decision of the Rovigo Provincial DMV and rejected the Chinese woman's appeal.
(Yi Yi Original, Translation: Yaqi, Editor: Shu Liao, Image source: Pixabay Network, please indicate Yi Stew: oushitalia)