Havana, Cuba, Jul 29.- Cuban deputies to the National Assembly of People´s Power (Parliament) endorsed yesterday a draft on the new Road Safety Code, which combines Cuban law and the most advanced international experience on the issue.

The decision was adopted by Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Defense and Assistance to Services, three of the 12 deliberating at the Palacio de Convenciones in Havana this Wednesday.

Jose Luis Toledo Santander, president of the first of these working groups, said the legislative proposal had been subject to wide parliamentary consultation, sectors of the population and specialists, including physicians and metrologists.

Toledo announced it would begin to take effect 120 days after being published in the Official Gazette of the Republic, with its corresponding additional provisions must comply with the law, which will be submitted for the consideration at the plenary session on Sunday.

Colonel Francisco Bruzón Macias, chief of the Traffic Division of the National Revolutionary Police, said the legal instrument will contribute to improving the welfare of the population and, in order to ensure its completion, they will develop strategies on road safety education for children and young people.

Lieutenant Colonel Mario Ríos Labrada told CAN news agency that the lawmakers gave their approval to the third version of the proposal, after nearly eight years of previous tests, which received a total of 21 amendments.

Only in the first half of this year, there were 4 900 traffic accidents that killed 359 people and injured 3 550.

Among the main causes of these incidents were the lack of vehicle control, alcohol consumption and violations in the mass transportation of passengers. (ACN)