Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin called excessive speeding fines that are spelled out in the new draft Code of Administrative Offenses (CAO). During the government meeting, he noted that the authorities have not yet achieved such an increase in salaries in the country that would allow the introduction of such severe penalties.
“When developing the new Code of Administrative Offenses, it was proposed to increase the amount of fines for drivers for speeding up to 5 thousand rubles. For many, this is simply beyond the power. We have not yet achieved such an increase in salaries so as to increase fines so much, ”the head of the Cabinet explained.
Mishustin recalled that all issues related to determining the size of fines and penalties should be considered taking into account the solvency of the population, as well as “from the point of view of improving the quality of automation and administration”.
“And do not go along the simplest path - increasing their size by multiple factors,” the head of government added.
The prime minister noted that the work of the Cabinet is not formalism, but the main task of the government is to solve the problems of the population.
In late January, the Ministry of Justice presented a draft of the new Code of Administrative Offenses. The document, which will be at the stage of public discussion until February 19, among other things, changes fines for motorists for violating traffic rules. According to the project, the punishment for exceeding the speed limit by 20-40 km / h will increase six times - from 500 to 3000 rubles, by 40-60 km / h - from 1000-1500 to 4000 rubles, by 60 km / h or more - a sanction of 5,000 rubles or deprivation of rights for 4-6 months. Repeated exceeding of the speed limit by 40-60 km / h or more threatens with punishment of 10,000 rubles or deprivation of rights for a year.
A number of deputies and experts sharply criticized the initiative of the Ministry of Justice. In particular, Secretary of the General Council of United Russia Andrei Turchak said that the faction would not support the adoption of the document in this form, since it contradicts the recent message from the president to the Federal Assembly. He recalled that the message of Vladimir Putin was dedicated to protecting the rights and interests of citizens, and the proposed innovations in the code constitute a toughening of “repressive mechanisms”. Turchak added that the main provisions of the document before adoption "must be discussed with people and finalized according to the results."
“The law is needed to prevent crime, and not to create a repressive machine or additional penalties from the population,” he said.
After the publication of the new draft Code of Administrative Offenses, the Ministry of Justice explained that the initiative to significantly increase fines belongs to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Meanwhile, the press center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that all comments regarding the increase in fines for traffic violations will be studied and used in the finalization.
It is worth noting that, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, for the period from January to September 2019, drivers in Moscow received about 20.6 million decisions on fines for traffic violations.
Most fines (approximately 10.9 million) were issued under Article 12.9 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, that is, for exceeding the speed limit. Of these, the most common violations are speeding from 20 to 40 km / h. The vast majority of drivers preferred to pay a fine immediately after receiving it. In such cases, they are entitled to a 50 percent discount.
Recall that in December 2019 it became known that the Russian authorities are considering the possibility of lowering the non-fined threshold for speeding from 20 to 10 km / h. This was stated by former Deputy Prime Minister Maxim Akimov.
He noted that Russian drivers intuitively add another 20 km / h to the established limit, as they subconsciously consider this a permitted speed, and added that it is necessary to get away from such a situation.
However, almost immediately after that, a spokesman for Dmitry Medvedev, who at that time headed the Cabinet of Ministers, noted that such a decision "is unlikely to be made in the near future." Moreover, he emphasized that Medvedev “doubts the expediency” of this initiative.
In June 2019, Vladimir Putin held the State Council for the Development of a Public Highway Network and Ensuring Road Safety, where he noted the lack of high quality roads in Russia, and also paid special attention to ensuring road safety and demanded that order be put in place in this area. In particular, he urged not to hide cameras on the roads, as they should discipline drivers, and not just bring them under fines.