In order not to pay fines for certain traffic violations, for the absence of certain documents, drivers should study the issues related to what mistakes they can be fined for.
Among the most popular queries is the size of the fine for driving without a category, which in 2021 can reach 15,000 rubles.
It should be noted right away that traveling on roads without an open category is a violation of the Traffic Rules.
Every driver of a modern mechanical vehicle must have a driver's license to drive a vehicle of the appropriate category.
Without exception, all driver's licenses of modern drivers contain designations of open categories and subcategories. Based on them, one can judge what vehicles the driver can control.
There are no rights and they didn’t work out
Rights may be missing if:
- The person was deprived of his driver's license;
- The rights did not work out.
Article 12.7 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides for penalties for driving without a driver's license. If the driver gets behind the wheel after being deprived of his license before receiving a new one – a 30 thousand ruble fine or community service, 15 days of arrest. The same penalties apply to the second option of lack of rights.
The owner of the vehicle will also receive punishment if it is a person other than the offending driver. The owner will be punished by a fine of up to 20 thousand rubles.
Is evacuation provided?
Yes. This preventive measure does not depend on the conditions of the absence of the right to drive, but is specifically applied when imposing punishment under certain articles of the code, which includes Part 1 of Article 12.7 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.
Thus, if there is no driver nearby who has the right to drive this car, driving which you are held liable under this article, and also if this person is not included in the MTPL insurance, then the car will be towed to the impound lot. And only a person who meets the listed conditions can pick it up.
Forgot my license at home
You may not have your license with you for another, more realistic reason: they were forgotten at home. In this case, if the driver is stopped by a traffic police officer to check his documents, but realizes that he did not take the license, he will be issued a fine. The fine will be 500 rubles. It seems that the amount is not significant, but additional problems arise. The fact is that without a license, the driver cannot continue driving the car. And if there is no person nearby who has a license and has insurance, or unlimited insurance and is familiar with the rights, then the car will be forced to be confiscated.
The car will have to be taken to the impound lot, from where the driver can pick it up only when he gets his license. Usually the first day of waiting for a car in the parking lot is free, but subsequent days will also require payment. Therefore, the car will need to be picked up as quickly as possible.
It is important that if the driver can provide a license within half an hour after discovering their absence, then the car may not be transported to the parking lot. The driver himself is usually not allowed to leave the place where he was stopped, and he will have to ask someone close to him to bring him his license.
How to behave when a violation is detected
The driver must understand that a fine for driving without a category is imposed by a traffic police official, and not by a court. If a vehicle is stopped and a violation is detected, there will be no detailed investigation. Therefore, the behavior of the motorist has a direct impact on the size of the fine.
If the driver really violated the traffic rules, then a conflict should not be allowed to arise. However, the inspector must not commit illegal actions. Thus, a traffic police officer does not have the right to:
- pick up a driver's license or documents for a car;
- demand immediate payment of the fine;
- confiscate personal items from the vehicle.
When the driver is sure that a representative of the road inspection is exceeding his authority, he needs to stand his ground, disagree with nothing, demand clarification from the traffic police representative, attract independent witnesses to what is happening, and film everything.
There are rights, but there is no this category
It happens that a person knows how to drive a car of one category, and get behind the wheel of a car of another type, because the difference in driving is insignificant. But finding himself behind the wheel of another vehicle, for which he has not received driving training, a person exposes himself and those around him to mortal danger.
For such driving, the driver will be fined from 5,000 to 15,000 rubles and will be removed from driving the car. The car will also be moved to an impound lot if there is no passenger with a license who can legally drive the car.
The penalties for driving without the appropriate category are essentially as severe as driving without a license. Therefore, to drive a vehicle of another category, you must undergo training for that category.
A situation often occurs when a person has the appropriate category for a car, but without a trailer - driving a car with trailers in this case is a violation. A trailer requires a special category.
At the same time, it happens the other way around, when a person studied for category A and is afraid to drive a motorcycle of category A1. There is nothing illegal about this; if you own a category, you can drive vehicles of subcategories.
If, on the contrary, there is only subcategory A1 or B1, then it is impossible to control A or B vehicles. Such violations will be equivalent to the lack of rights to drive this vehicle.
We would like to dispel another misconception regarding the idea that if you have category C or D you can drive a passenger car - this is not so. To drive a passenger car you will definitely need category B.
What types of fines are provided?
There are various reasons for the lack of rights, therefore the size of fines varies depending on the situation.
Conditionally, the following circumstances for imposing fines can be distinguished:
- having a license, but not having the required category - Fine from 5,000 to 15,000 rubles;
- driving a car after deprivation of a license - a fine of 30 thousand or arrest for 15 days;
- expiration of the driver's license - Fine from 5,000 to 15,000 rubles;
- driving a car with a manual transmission without an advisory permit (with a license intended only for cars with an automatic transmission) - Fine from 5,000 to 15,000 rubles;
- car with trailer - Fine from 5,000 to 15,000 rubles;
Now let's look at each case separately to figure out when a fine is imposed justifiably and when it is illegal.
There are rights of a different category
Russian legislation distinguishes 16 categories of driver's licenses. Among them are 5 main ones, and the rest are subcategories or categories for managing specific transport, for example, trolleybuses and trams. Driving a vehicle that does not belong to the category of license obtained is equivalent to driving a vehicle without a driver’s license. The punishment is imposed in accordance with Article 12.7 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation: a fine from 5,000 to 15,000 rubles.
However, obtaining some categories automatically gives the right to drive vehicles of another category or subcategory. For example, a category “A” license gives the right to drive all motorcycles, including those classified as “A1”. This rule does not work in the opposite direction: drivers with subcategory “A1” cannot drive motorcycles of category “A”. More details about all the rules for classifying rights will be below.
Driving a vehicle after revocation of a driver's license
For some traffic violations, for example, driving a vehicle while intoxicated or driving into the oncoming lane, drivers are deprived of their license for a certain time in accordance with the law. The driver cannot drive a vehicle after a court verdict or decision in an administrative case has entered into force. From this moment on, driving a car or other vehicle is prohibited. Responsibility for violation of this prohibition is also established by Article 12.7 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. However, for driving a vehicle after deprivation of rights, the punishment is more severe: a fine of 30,000 rubles, arrest for up to 15 days, or compulsory work for up to 200 hours.
Driving a vehicle after the license expires
A driver's license is valid for 10 years. After this time has expired, the document must be replaced. To do this, you need to undergo a medical examination again and obtain the necessary certificate. You do not need to retake the test, but you cannot drive a car after the license has expired. This violation will be considered equivalent to driving without a license and will be punishable by a fine of 5,000 to 15,000 rubles.
Drivers are not required to renew their license every 10 years. But driving a car with an expired license is prohibited.
Driving with an automatic transmission
The controversial situation with the rights to drive cars with automatic transmission deserves special attention. In fact, cars with automatic transmission and manual transmission belong to the same category - “B”. However, if the driver took the test in a car with an automatic transmission, then “AT” is marked on the back of the license in one of the fields. Such a certificate does not give the right to drive a car with a manual transmission, and drivers who violate the rule will be punished in accordance with the same article of the Code of Administrative Offences: Part 1 of Article 12.7 - a fine of 5,000 to 15,000 rubles.
At the same time, drivers who have passed the test in a car with a manual transmission can drive any vehicles of category “B”.
Driving with a trailer
Another nuance that drivers need to be aware of is that driving a car with a trailer does not always require additional rights. Category “B” is sufficient in the following situations:
- the trailer with cargo weighs less than 750 kg;
- The machine, including trailer and cargo, weighs less than 3500 kg.
In other cases, to drive a car with a trailer, you must obtain a separate “BE” category. Otherwise, you will have to pay the same fine for driving without the appropriate category.
Changing the car design
A significant change in the design or technical characteristics of a car requires official registration with the traffic police. In addition, if the changes affected the criteria for belonging to any category, then the category of the car changes only after registration. That is, if you remove several seats from a nine-seater minibus, you still need category “D” to drive it. A driver with a category “B” license will be able to legally drive such a car only after the design changes have been legalized.
Types of categories (main)
Today there are many categories and subcategories, the main ones:
A - motorcycles;
A1 - light motorcycles o. d. no more than 125 cm and m. no more than 11 kV;
B - cars, with the exception of those belonging to category A, up to 3500 kg and the number of seats up to 8;
B1 - ATVs and tricycles;
C - cars, with the exception of those belonging to category D, more than 3500 kg;
C1 - trucks with a permissible maximum weight from 3.5 to 7.5 tons;
D - cars designed to transport passengers with more than 8 seats, except for the driver;
D1 - buses with 9-16 seats, excluding the driver's seat;
E - combinations of vehicles with a tractor belonging to categories B, C or D, which the driver has the right to drive, but which are not themselves included in one of these categories or in these categories (Trailer);
M - mopeds, scooters, as well as light quadricycles with working speed. up to 50 cu.m. cm.
Who gets fined for not having a category?
A fine for driving a vehicle without a license of the appropriate category is issued by a traffic police officer when checking documents. Any violator can be fined, regardless of the type of vehicle.
However, most often fines are issued under the following circumstances:
- A motorist with a category “B” license driving a motorcycle. The most common category, which gives the right to drive passenger cars, also gives the right to drive ATVs and tricycles. However, for motorcycles, you must pass a separate exam for category “A”.
- Motorists with category “C” or “D” licenses driving passenger cars. It is logical that a person who can drive a bus or a truck will be able to drive a car without any problems. However, the law requires passing a separate exam to obtain category “B”, even if more complex categories are already open.
- A motorist with a massive trailer. It happens that drivers buy a trailer for which categories “B” are sufficient. And after some time, without even thinking about it, they purchase a larger trailer, for which they need to pass a separate exam.
- Drivers of minibuses carrying more than 8 people. For such cars, a category “D” or “D1” license is required. In this case, the case when the bus legally belongs to category “B”, but actually seats more than 8 people, will also be considered a violation.
Legal grounds for towing a trailer without category “E”
Persons with open license categories “B”, “C”, “D” are allowed to drive a machine pulling a tow hitch. The rules say that if the weight of the trailer does not exceed 750 kg, it is not necessary to open category “E”.
A passenger vehicle can pull a mechanical device that does not exceed its own weight when unladen. The total weight of such a vehicle combination cannot exceed 3500 kg.
Thus, category “E” is not needed when:
- the trailer weighs less than 750 kg;
- the mass of the towbar is more than 750 kg, but less than the mass of the vehicle (other tractor), and at the same time, the total weight of the vehicle combination is less than 3500 kg.
In all other cases, the driver must have category “E”.
We talked in detail about whether a trailer needs a technical inspection in this article.
Vehicle detention
According to the law, the detention of a vehicle means transporting it using another vehicle to a special parking lot and storing it there until the reason for the detention is eliminated. That is, the car will remain in the impound lot until a person with the appropriate subcategory comes to pick it up. It could be you after studying at a driving school or your friend.
If a car is still detained, make sure that the employee draws up a report. Otherwise, he does not have the right to drive vehicles to the impound lot.
Punishment for driving without a license left at home
Let's imagine a specific situation: a calm person is driving, but an inspector stops him and asks him to show the documents for the car. Having looked in the glove compartment and pocket and not finding his ID there, he realizes that he forgot his license. What to do in this case?
Of course, this will lead to a warning from the traffic police officer or minimal penalties. Such rules are established in the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
Accordingly, driving a car without a license (if they have been forgotten) entails an official warning or a small fixed fine of 500 rubles.
We are not talking about any deprivation of rights, large fines, or arrest. And the car in the parking lot will also not be stolen. And although the consequences for leaving your driver's license at home are not as serious, it is better to be on the safe side and always check the necessary documentation before leaving.
Penalties for driving with a trailer
For each trailer that can be used together with one of the types of vehicles, Russian legislation provides for its own maximum weight and its own category or subcategory. Yes, cat. “B” allows trailers weighing up to 750 kg and more to be attached to such vehicles, however, in the second case, the total weight of the vehicle should not exceed 3.5 tons. If the established requirements are violated, the motorist will bear administrative liability. The fine for driving with a trailer without a category is also determined by clause 1 of Article 12.7 and amounts to 5-15 thousand rubles.
Additional penalties
As follows from the above articles of the Administrative Code, certain sanctions are not limited to a fine for driving without documents. There are the following reasons for this:
- Lack of STS. If the driver was unable to provide evidence, then there is a high probability that the car was stolen or the owner did not give permission to move. Therefore, until the end of the inspection, he is placed in the impound lot.
- No control rights. It is logical to assume that the person has not undergone a medical examination, has not passed an exam on knowledge of the basics of safe driving and operation of a car, and therefore poses a threat to other road users - a decision is made to evacuate the car until all the circumstances are established.
- A driver with an expired license may also face a parking fine. When replacing them, a certificate from medical institutions is provided stating that there are no contraindications to driving a car in the subsequent period. The absence of an extension indicates the person’s possible forgetfulness or the refusal of government authorities to again grant such a right.
Maximum measures are provided for persons previously deprived of the legal opportunity to drive a car. As a rule, measures are taken in cases of socially dangerous acts related to driving. Ignoring an administrative restriction is accompanied by arrest, work and a car impound.
