October 2, 2019
Forgot to take
Not included
Not issued
Expired
Is it possible to drive without a compulsory motor liability insurance policy? Most drivers know that they are required to carry valid insurance. And yet, a situation in which you are stopped by the traffic police, but you don’t have the policy in hand, is not excluded. We suggest you figure it out: when can you be required to provide insurance? What punishment do you face for not having an MTPL policy and can it be avoided? What if the driver is not included in the insurance? In addition, we will talk about the most pressing issue today: do cameras record the absence of a compulsory motor liability insurance policy in 2020?
When do you need to show insurance?
Despite the fact that the law on compulsory motor liability insurance only speaks of two cases of presenting an insurance policy (an accident or an inspector drawing up a protocol on an offense), traffic regulations oblige car owners to always have insurance with them.
The list of documents that the driver must present to the police upon request is not very long:
- driver's license;
- vehicle registration documents;
- insurance policy.
In some cases, you will also need permits to transport passengers or cargo (for taxis) or papers confirming disability (for cars with the appropriate sign).
Thus, the inspector’s request to show him the insurance is quite legitimate. And if you cannot do this, the law provides for a fine for driving without a compulsory motor liability insurance policy. The amount of the fine will vary depending on the situation.
What happens if you forgot your MTPL at home?
Everyone knows that insurance must be in the car at all times (along with the driver’s license and car registration documents). But for various reasons, when stopped by a traffic police officer, you may not have the policy on you. You can avoid responsibility for your forgetfulness if you convince the inspector to check the current MTPL policy against the internal database.
Having information about the VIN number and driver's license, any police officer can enter them into the Ministry of Internal Affairs database and receive all the information about the availability of insurance and its validity period.
Sometimes the inspector is ready to meet the driver halfway and simply issue a warning - such a decision is possible according to the law. On the other hand, sanctions for a similar situation are provided for in Part 2 of Article 12.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation: for a driver who forgot insurance at home, the fine will be 500 rubles .
If the inspector does not want to hear about online checks at all and is not ready to take your word for it, the amount of the fine will be increased to 800 rubles (the violation is classified as driving a car without an MTPL policy, as if it did not exist in principle). This can be appealed: write a statement addressed to the head of the guard service and attach a copy of the policy to it.
Driver not registered
Insurance companies recommend taking out open insurance for a reason: this way you can avoid many troubles. After all, the inspector will issue a fine if he does not see the name of the person who is driving on the insurance. The amount of the fine is the same as in the previous case ( 500 rubles
).
The fine will be issued even if the person included in the OSAGO policy is in the car as a passenger. However, his presence will help to avoid further troubles: after all, if no one who has the right to drive this vehicle is nearby, the car will be towed to the impound lot.
There is another way to avoid a fine for a driver who is not included in your insurance. If you anticipate a situation in which a stranger will have to get behind the wheel, draw up an agreement “On the free use of a vehicle” in advance. Such a document does not need to be registered, and its registration is free. At the right time, all you need to do is enter the details of the new driver into the printed contract: the paper will be valid for 10 days.
Driving a car without insurance
If there is no insurance at all (it was not taken out), the amount of the fine will be higher: 800 rubles. Some car owners, having found out what fine they expect for driving without a policy, believe that its size is not comparable to the cost of the policy. Why then take out a compulsory motor liability insurance policy in principle?
We do not recommend taking the insurance survey so carelessly. Firstly, the main purpose of the policy is to help you out in the event of an accident. Secondly, there are no restrictions in the law on the number of fines issued. Roughly speaking, if you are “caught” without a policy three times in one day, you will be issued three fines. And finally, repeated violations can even lead to legal proceedings.
OSAGO policy is expired
If the car owner missed the time to renew the insurance and drives with a policy that has expired, the fine will also be 800 rubles.
Fine for driving without MTPL insurance in 2021
In the absence of an MTPL policy, the traffic police inspector will not be able to seize the vehicle and send it to the impound lot
, as well as removing license plates. In any of these situations, this will be an abuse of power, which threatens official proceedings and can be appealed in court.
And the absence of a driver’s insurance policy with him is not a reason to hold the driver accountable for his complete absence. It is important for the driver to know his rights and carefully read what the inspector writes in the protocol.
Back in 2015, they began to discuss the creation of an electronic system that would allow combining several electronic databases (RSA - availability of a policy, TsODD - reading the number and identifying the owner, and the traffic police - issuing a fine). But in practice, the implementation of this project has been delayed for several years. The test version was launched only in 2019, and the first drivers received regular notifications stating the absence of compulsory motor liability insurance. No fines were issued
.
At the moment, the system is still being prepared for launch, and Moscow will be the first to test the innovation. As for the timing of commissioning of the system, they have not yet been determined. Although, according to some rumors, the implementation will take place in 2021. But there is no reliable confirmation, and the start of the system, according to representatives of the State Traffic Inspectorate, will be announced in advance in the media
.
This question has been of interest to drivers since 2021, when they promised to introduce a similar system for use in Tatarstan and Moscow, but the situation is such that the launch is constantly postponed.
At the moment, information periodically appears that this system will still be launched in 2021, but there is no exact data yet. That is why you have to wait for updates and the latest news regarding this innovation.
Its essence should be that cameras placed directly on the roads will be able to record the presence of insurance in photos and videos. After this, the photo will be given to the citizen along with a fine in the form of a letter. It is this option for monitoring the availability of documents that is quite promising, but in reality nothing is yet known and no one can give accurate information when the system will work.
Important ! If the camera system does work, then it will not be the driver who will receive the fine, but the owner to whom the car is registered. This should definitely be remembered by those whose car is used by third parties. The fines will still have to be paid by the owner.
The legislation of the Russian Federation has been considering issues of rewarding its debtors for timely payment of fines for several years now. In 2021, there will also be a 50% discount on timely payment of fines. The motorist will have to pay the fine within 20 days of receiving it.
So, for example, if a motorist received a fine for not having an insurance policy, then during the first 20 days he will have to pay only 400 rubles, and if the policy is expired, only 250 rubles.
Are there additional penalties for not having insurance in 2020?
Some drivers ask what punishment they face for not having a compulsory motor liability insurance policy, in addition to a fine. There is no need to worry: the additional measure in the form of evacuation of the vehicle to an impound lot is not provided for by law. As we wrote above, the only situation in which a car can be seized is if the driver is not included in the insurance, and none of the persons authorized to drive this car are nearby (or are not arriving at the stop in the near future). This decision is logical, because traffic police officers cannot allow a person who is not included in the policy to continue driving: this means that it is necessary to transport the car to the parking lot until the circumstances are clarified and before the owner shows up.
Another sanction that is feared “for old times’ sake” is the removal of registration numbers (tantamount to a ban on the operation of the vehicle). In fact, this measure was canceled back in 2014, that is, neither in 2018 nor in 2021 you will face such a punishment.
Fined? You can drive further. But don't be surprised if you get stopped and fined again on the same day.
In what cases can a car be impounded?
All possible traffic situations for which a car can be detained and evacuated to a special parking lot are prescribed in Article 27.13 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. This is a very wide range of violations, among which are driving a car while intoxicated (Article 12.8), driving a car without a license (Article 12.7), driving a vehicle with faulty brakes (Part 2 of Article 12.5) and many others.
In relation to the topic of our conversation today, it should be noted that in the list of violations specified in Article 27.13 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation as grounds for detaining a vehicle, driving without insurance is not included, that is, the driver does not face a fine for not having an MTPL policy . But read more about this in the next chapter.
Video recording: can cameras record the absence of an MTPL policy?
For a couple of years now, rumors have been circulating on the Internet that cameras on the roads record the driver’s lack of insurance, and you can get a fine even without communicating with a traffic police officer.
In 2021, not a single report of such a case appeared, and only in 2021 (from March 1) a fine for the lack of a policy began to be issued automatically. So now not only those who deliberately did not buy insurance are under attack, but also those who inadvertently purchased an invalid document from scammers.
New fines for lack of insurance - a myth?
Increasing the fine for driving without a policy has been discussed for quite some time. Some owners do not know exactly what fine they can be given without a valid policy, because they read on the Internet about an increase in the amount to 5,000 rubles.
Such a bill has indeed already been prepared, but it has not yet been considered in the State Duma. The review may take a lot of time, which means that you won’t face a new fine without insurance yet: count on the same 500-800 rubles. But it is better, of course, not to neglect the purchase of an insurance policy and its renewal: do not forget about the risk of getting into an accident and parting with a substantial amount due to your carelessness.
What is there?
As of 2021, there are 3 types of penalties regarding compulsory car insurance:
- a fine of 800 rubles for the absence of compulsory motor liability insurance as a motor vehicle contract, the same with an expired policy,
- 500 rubles, if you are not included in the insurance,
- 500 rubles or a warning, if you have a policy, you are included in it, but when stopped by a traffic police inspector, the paper itself is obviously missing (except in cases of electronic compulsory motor liability insurance).
In addition, the authorities have long been discussing the issue of increasing the fine for driving without a policy to 5,000 rubles and even depriving people of rights for this. And in very rare cases, by analogy with tinting, a so-called “demand” is issued for the lack of compulsory motor liability insurance, and if stopped again, they can be imprisoned for up to 15 days for failure to comply.
How will driving without a compulsory motor liability insurance policy end for the person responsible for the accident?
Taking out insurance is the responsibility of any driver, which is stated in Federal Law No. 40 of April 25, 2002. If you are the culprit of an accident and you do not have a valid MTPL policy, prepare for the following consequences:
- You will need to pay for the damage yourself (Article 1064 of the Civil Code)
- a fine for lack of insurance is also inevitable, because now the violation is known to the traffic police.
If the victim does not have an MTPL policy, it will cost only a fine of 800 rubles. But are you one hundred percent sure that under no circumstances can you cause an accident?
