The roads will become safer

To improve road safety, drunk drivers will be able to have their cars confiscated so that in the future they do not endanger other road users. The Supreme Council deputies adopted the President's law-in-draft in the second final reading. Such an additional penalty is introduced against those who have previously been brought to administrative or criminal liability for drunk driving and got behind the wheel while intoxicated again without drawing conclusions.

About 100 road accidents in the republic occur every year due to the fault of drunk drivers. Because of which, 2 people died in 2021, 15 received injuries of varying severity. The statistics are the same – 1 fatality and 18 injuries as a result of such accidents in 2022 and 2023.

According to the current legislation, violators face a fine of up to 3680 rubles and deprivation of rights for up to 2 years for driving a car while intoxicated (Article 12.8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). Despite this, there are cases when drivers continue to get behind the wheel, having been deprived of their license. The Criminal Code separately prescribed liability for drivers who drive a car after being deprived of their license and at the same time have a criminal record for committing an accident that resulted in serious bodily harm or death of a person in 2022. The punishment prescribed is a fine of up to 11 thousand rubles or a term of up to 2 years. The penalties for drunk drivers who had already received an administrative penalty for drunk driving (a fine of up to 7000 rubles or imprisonment for up to 2 years) or who drove drunk while having a criminal record for causing harm to health or for the death of a person (a fine of up to 9000 rubles or imprisonment for up to 3 years) were tightened in 2018. The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported the current penalties have proven ineffective, as practice has shown. Therefore, the President proposed an additional type of punishment - confiscation of the car. However, such a decision will only be made in court.

The Legislation Committee clarified in an amendment to the second reading that the car that is owned by the convicted person and which he was driving at the time of detention will be subject to confiscation. Thus, drivers who drive drunk again will be punished with a fine with confiscation of the car or imprisonment – with confiscation of the car. Similar norms are in force in Russian legislation, noted Deputy Speaker of Parliament Galina Antyufeeva.

It will come into force 14 days later after the President signs the law.