Fine of half a million, 3 years in prison: the article for drunk driving is being tightened

Is the new Code of Administrative Offenses in 2021 true? Last news

This is the absolute truth! The official document was published on the portal of regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation at the end of January 2020. And at the moment this is a preliminary (raw) version of the draft new Code.

Among the most important changes:

• the entire chapter responsible for traffic police fines, previously located in section 12 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, has moved to a new section - 21, which is divided into the corresponding articles of violations,
• there was an increase in fines for a number of offenses, including speeding, tinting, driving without MTPL insurance and dangerous driving,
• at the same time, according to the new concept, the terms of imprisonment for the most serious traffic violations have increased,
• After the changes, the term “right to drive” will be renamed “the right to engage in activities related to driving vehicles” (at the same time, in other laws everything remains the same).

Also possible.

This is true?

No. None of the fines listed in the table above increase in September 2021. Moreover, at the moment, not a single draft of a new law has been published to amend the Code of Administrative Offenses regarding sanctions for traffic violations.

That is why these sources do not provide links to official data from departments: the State Duma of the Russian Federation, the Government, the Legislative Assembly and even the traffic police as the initiator of the increase. Therefore, any information about increasing the size of fines is nothing more than a fake and a “duck”.

Where are the proofs?

Let's take a look at the official sources of information. In fact, formally there can only be two of them. These are either databases of legal information as the most authoritative and therefore reliable (the Consultant Plus and Garant systems). Or an even more reliable source is the portal directly for the publication of regulations.

The fact is that all the increased fines indicated in the table, if they were true, would have to be introduced by the corresponding draft Federal Law. Changes to the administrative code are made by other federal laws, and these new laws must be published after adoption by the State Duma and signing by the President and before officially entering into force - this is stated in Article 6 of Federal Law No. 5. At the same time, Article 6.1 of the same legal act regulates that federal laws must be published on the portal pravo.gov.ru.

Thus, the answer to our question is an attempt to find the relevant Federal Laws on changes in Chapter 12 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (Chapter 12 regulates traffic police fines in the field of traffic). And here you will not find any relevant new laws.

Go ahead. Now let's take a look at the relevant articles of the Code of Administrative Offenses in the Garant system:

• nowhere in Chapter 12 will you find information about the new fine for missing a dash cam or dangerous driving,
• in article 12.9 you will see the same fines in September 2021 for speeding,
• There is still a 500 ruble fine for tinting,
• the fine for an uninsured car remained at 800 rubles,
• and finally, how much will the fine be in September if you did not let a pedestrian pass at the crossing? Right! From 1,500 to 2,500 rubles and no new 8 thousand.

By the way, we have special articles regarding changes to some norms of penalties for traffic violations:

• on the introduction of a fine for the absence of a registrar in the car,
• on increasing the penalty for tinting,
• and the introduction of penalties for tachographs in September was transformed from slightly different news,
• on the introduction of a new traffic police fine for exceeding what is considered acceptable today,
• and in general about increasing the penalties for speeding,
• for dangerous driving.

Moreover, you can look at the editions of the Code of Administrative Offenses on the same website and will not find any innovations in September.

What's changing?

So, despite the fact that traffic offenses moved to another section of the Code of Administrative Offenses, not all fines were revised, and many of them remained within the same limits, just as the terms of deprivation of rights remained for the same violations.

However, a number of penalties in the draft Administrative Code have undergone major changes - in all the cases listed below, fines have increased.

Update from 03/15/2020: After a negative reaction to the increase in sanctions, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation decided to leave traffic police fines at the same level - not to tighten them. However, since this decision does not directly make changes to the draft Code of Administrative Offenses, this cannot yet be called an official abolition of the increase in penalties. We will update the information if the response is approved at the effective level.

Let's look at what sanctions have undergone updates!

New fine - lack of technical inspection

We have previously written that along with the tightening of the rules for passing a technical inspection, there will also be a punishment for this. In the summer of 2020, the corresponding bill should come into force.

So the new edition provides for a sanction for the lack of a valid diagnostic card in the amount of 2 thousand rubles.

Article 21.5, part 2. Driving a vehicle for which a diagnostic card confirming the vehicle’s admission to participate in road traffic has not been issued in accordance with the established procedure shall entail the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of two thousand rubles.

You will also be interested in:

• What new traffic police fines for speeding have come into force?
• New fines for speeding from January 1, 2021 - true or not?
• Changes in traffic police fines from January 1: new law and table of current fines

Increased penalties for tinting

Those who like to drive with tinted windows will face tougher punishment, manifested in the form of two new liability standards.
Let's look at them in the form of a table of fines! New fines for light transmittance

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Repeated driving without a license

Another fine for a repeated violation will appear in the new Code of Administrative Offenses of 2021 when driving a vehicle without a license. It will range from 20 to 30 thousand or compulsory labor as a more severe punishment.

Article 21.7, part 2. Repeated commission of an administrative offense provided for in part 1 of this article shall entail the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of twenty thousand to thirty thousand rubles, or compulsory labor for a period of forty to sixty hours, or administrative arrest for a term of up to five days. .

Please note that this standard applies under the following unlicensed driving conditions:

• if you have never received your license,
• if your driver's license has expired,
• if your period of deprivation has expired, but you have not taken the license.

New punishment for driving drunk with children

Previously, the sanction for intoxication did not differ from different types of conditions. After the changes, if you are driving while intoxicated and there are children under 16 years old in the car, the term of imprisonment can be increased to 3 years, and the fine – up to 50 thousand.

For convenience, let's compare these 2 standards of punishment for drunk driving!
Differences in sanctions for intoxication under the new Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation

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Increase in speed fine

The most important change, affecting the majority of Russians on the roads, came with the speed fine. We previously wrote that the authorities really want to abolish the permissible excess of 10-20 km/h. This has not yet happened in the new edition of the Administrative Code. But the sanction for exceeding 20-40 km/h was raised 6 times - up to 3,000 rubles.

And again a table of new fines!
Increasing speed fines

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As you can see, some of the fines in the draft new Code were grouped and general penalties were assigned.

For railway crossing

Today, in Article 12.10, there is a current fine of 1,000 rubles or imprisonment for 3-6 months for the following traffic violations:

• crossing railway tracks outside a crossing,
• passage through a closing or closed barrier,
• passing a red traffic light at a crossing,
• stop and parking for crossing.

In the new edition of the Administrative Code, you will pay 5 thousand for these violations, or you will be deprived of your rights for the same period from 3 months to six months. But another offense is added to this list - driving through an unregulated crossing if a train is approaching it within sight.

For failure to stop at the request of the traffic police

But if you drive by, ignoring the requirement to stop from a traffic police inspector on the road, the fine for this remains unchanged - from 500 to 800 rubles. But there were as many as 2 new punishments.

The first of them is for trying to escape in pursuit. You will be deprived of your rights for a long period - from 2 to 3 years or a fine of 40 thousand rubles will be imposed for failure to stop with the following conditions:

1. you did not comply with the repeated request to stop the traffic police officer,
2. trying to hide
3. If you try to escape, you create a threat to road safety.

Please note that the last point will, in principle, be carried out during a pursuit, since you will not get by without violating other points of the traffic rules - at least speeding.

In addition, drivers serving in the armed forces will be subject to a sanction of 500-800 rubles for failure to comply with the requirements of military inspectors, the National Guard, and military rescuers. However, we previously wrote about the right of such employees to stop cars on the roads.

Refusal of examination

Here, too, fines have increased and terms of imprisonment have become more severe.
And again, depending on the presence of children in the car. Punishments in the new Code of Administrative Offenses for refusal of examination

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Please note that we are talking specifically about refusing examination at a medical institution. For refusing to test for alcohol on the road, you can refuse without consequences under the Code of Administrative Offenses, but this is the basis for sending you for a medical examination.

Systematic traffic violations (point system)

We also talked earlier about the fact that the State Duma plans to introduce changes by adding punishment to the code for various repeated violations. Now there is an implementation of this idea, reflected in the draft of the new Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

If you have been charged 3 or more times over the past year for the following reasons:

• parts 3 and 4 of article 21.9 (exceeding more than 60 km/h and repeated exceedings),
• for violations of the rules for traveling railway tracks (except for the violations presented in the list above (parts 1 and 2 of Article 21.10),
• for driving through a red traffic light (parts 1 and 3 of Article 21.12),
• did not give way to another car (Part 3 of Article 21.13),
• turning or driving in reverse in violation of traffic rules (part 2 of article 21.14),
• driving in oncoming traffic, including repeated driving (parts 5 and 6 of Article 21.15),
• turning left or making a U-turn in violation of road signs (Part 2 of Article 21.16),
• failure to pass a pedestrian at a crossing (Article 21.18 of the Administrative Code).

In these cases, you can be legally and officially deprived of your rights for a period of 1 to one and a half years, or imposed a fine of 10 to 30 thousand rubles if you belong to the category of citizens who cannot be deprived.

Please note that if these violations of the Rules are recorded on auto-recording cameras, they are not taken into account for the purpose of sentencing as systematic ones. That is, to do this, it is the traffic police inspector who must stop you and issue 3 or more fines per year for these violations.

Fine for dangerous driving

And again, the authorities remember the well-forgotten old things in the draft amendments to the Administrative Code of 2021.

This time we are talking about a sanction for dangerous driving, which, according to the new rules, will amount to 5,000 rubles. You can read what is considered dangerous driving in our special article.

For MTPL insurance

But for violations of the car insurance policy, the fine increased very slightly:

• if you are not included in the current OSAGO or drive without a policy – ​​800 rubles (before changes 500),
• if there is no auto insurance contract for the car (failure to fulfill the obligation itself, except for driving) - 1,000 rubles (previously 800).

For driving on roads on mechanisms not intended for this purpose

For example, if you go out on public roads on a caterpillar tractor, cross-country motorcycle or pit bike (which is listed as sports equipment). The fine for you for the first time will be from 5 to 15 thousand.

And for a repeated violation within a year, you will be punished with a sanction of 20 to 30 thousand.

What will be introduced in September?

Actually, nothing. Not a single legal act with amendments in the field of road traffic comes into force either on September 1 or 20 of this year.

Of the recent, upcoming and possible changes in legislation, we note the following.

1. Deputies proposed depriving people of their rights for lack of MTPL insurance. The draft new law has only been submitted to the State Duma and will not necessarily be adopted in principle. And if so, then drivers for repeated driving without insurance will face a new fine of 5,000 rubles or deprivation of their license for 4-6 months.
2. Automatic recording cameras began to record the same lack of insurance. Only fines have not yet been sent to drivers, but instead of “chain letters” they receive notifications. This is because the innovation is in the experimental stage. Once it ends, countless fines will be issued, but exact dates have not been announced.
3. Not long ago, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in which it explained how to punish drivers for dirty license plates, alcohol intoxication and other violations.

You can track all official changes that come into force in our convenient timeline.

Cancel discount

Perhaps the most unexpectedly unpleasant change, which, by the way, you are unlikely to find covered in the latest news on many online resources, will be the abolition of the 50% discount on paying a fine within 20 days after it is issued.

Unfortunately, this possibility was completely removed from the revised Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation in 2021. However, it is possible that they were removed in order to indicate it in some other legal act.

Something else useful for you:

• What are the fines for driving without paying on a toll road? New law on non-payment of toll sections
• New fines for abandoning a car in the yard and for washing a car - true or not?
• New fines in July 2021 - is it true?

Fine for drunk driving for the first time

A driver is considered to be in violation of this article if a breathalyzer detects 0.16 mg of ethyl alcohol in one liter of air exhaled from the lungs. He is also considered intoxicated if he has 0.3 mg of ethyl alcohol in his blood, or if he refuses to undergo the intoxication test.

Recently introduced amendments punish drivers quite harshly even when they first come to the attention of inspectors in a state falling under Article 12.8. According to paragraph 1 of this article, if a person is caught drunk for the first time, however, he has not committed an act that is punishable criminally, then he is subject to punishment in the form of:

• imprisonment for a period of 1.5 to 2 years;
• administrative punishment in the form of a fine of 30,000 rubles.

Important! At the same time, the norm of paying half the fine, popular among motorists, does not apply to this violation.

It is also prohibited to allow people who are drunk to drive a car. For this, the car owner will suffer the same punishment, deprivation of his license and a large fine. Therefore, you should be careful when transferring the right to drive a car to third parties.

When will it take effect?

But the most important misconception on the Internet, which you can find on many resources and sites, is the information that the new Code of Administrative Offenses comes into force on January 1, 2021.

This is not true and a myth. As of today, May 27, 2021, there is no exact information about the date of acquisition of the draft amendments to official status. The project has been published so far only for discussion on the Federal Project Portal.

In order for the updated Code to come into force, it is required that its final form be published on the publication portal. After such publication, entry into force occurs after 10 days. And, since today you will not find the new Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation at the specified link, it is too early to talk about the date of entry.

When will it not be possible to replace a fine with a warning and you will have to pay a fine?

A complete list of violations when a fine cannot be replaced with a warning. Examples of such violations:

1. Involvement of foreign citizens in labor activities if they do not have patents.
2. Violation of the procedure for placing outdoor advertising (for example, placed above the roadway without approval from the traffic police).
3. Sales of products with a designation that is confusingly similar to the trademarks of a foreign company.
4. Distribution of false advertising.
5. When selling alcoholic beverages, the seller did not familiarize the buyer, at his request, with the shipping document for the goods.
6. Gross violation of the requirements of the license to carry out medical activities.
7. Trafficking in alcoholic beverages without accompanying documents confirming the legality of its production and circulation

To replace the fine, the entrepreneur must try to convince the judges that the offense did not pose a threat to the health of citizens.

If you are faced with an audit or received a fine, then contact a legal representative. We will help:

• replace the fine with a warning;
• challenge the legality and results of the inspection;
• prepare the organization for inspection;
• undertake the full verification process.

To find out more and get a free consultation, send a request using the form below:

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Opinion of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on offenses under the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation

According to the arbitration courts and the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the overwhelming majority of offenses under the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation automatically entail a threat to people's health. For example:

1. Information in declarations on the volume of retail sales of alcohol and alcohol-containing products was distorted.
2. Maintaining a section of a public highway of federal significance in poor condition
3. As part of production control, laboratory tests are not carried out on microbiological indicators of manufactured semi-finished products.

HOWEVER, THERE IS ALWAYS A POSSIBILITY TO MINIMIZE THE AMOUNT OF LIABILITY.

Legal entities can avoid administrative fines. Small businesses are faced with inspections by various authorities, which often result in the identification of violations and the imposition of fines.

It is important to know the options on how to simplify the punishment and replace the fine with a warning, especially since such a norm is provided for in the legislation of the Russian Federation. It is also very important to understand what not to do. Let's look at an example below.

Challenging an administrative fine without the help of a lawyer is a risk

If at first, relying on your own strength, you tried to challenge administrative liability on your own. But you were unable to avoid responsibility or replace the fine with a warning.

Remember! Perhaps then even a qualified lawyer will not be able to help you.

WHY?

Only courts of first and appellate instances can replace a fine with a warning.

EXAMPLE:

Thus, in one case, customs fined a company 100 thousand rubles for providing an invalid declaration of conformity for the goods when declaring goods at customs.

However, the company itself discovered the error and submitted the correct declaration to the customs authority. The company wanted to reduce the fine to 10 thousand, but stated this only in the cassation court.

RESULT:

All the company’s arguments were rejected, since the cassation court has limited competence and does not include establishing the circumstances of the case and assessing the evidence in the case.

Entrust challenging administrative fines to professionals. You can sign up for a free consultation with a lawyer:

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