After an accident on Minskaya Street, the traffic police threaten drivers with total checks and confiscation of cars

The State Traffic Inspectorate proposes to introduce a total alcohol test for drivers on Russian roads and consider the possibility of confiscating cars from those caught driving while drunk, RIA Novosti reports with reference to the head of the Main Directorate for Road Safety of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, Viktor Nilov.

Particular attention to this topic is now focused in the context of a high-profile accident that occurred on Saturday on Minskaya Street in Moscow. Then a drunk driver of a foreign car (according to preliminary data, he drank at least a liter of vodka) rammed a public transport stop - seven people became victims of the accident, including five pupils of the orphanage for mentally retarded children number 7.

“We consider it necessary, as in many countries, to introduce the practice of mass checking of drivers to determine whether they are intoxicated,” Nilov said at a meeting in the State Duma on Tuesday.

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He noted that traffic police officers can carry out such work together with representatives of the public and the media.

The form in which these checks may be carried out has not yet been specified.

Also, according to Nilov, it makes sense to consider confiscating a car from a driver who is caught driving drunk again.

“The next point is the possibility of confiscation of the vehicle in the event of, say, repeated driving while intoxicated,” Nilov said.

After the accident on Minskaya Street, officials and deputies again started talking about the need to toughen penalties for drunk drivers.

The United Russia party announced on Monday that this week it intends to amend the legislation to toughen penalties for drunk driving, implying a multiple increase in fines with confiscation of the car, life-long deprivation of rights and a prison term for a repeated case of driving while intoxicated. intoxication.

This initiative was supported by the White House and the Kremlin.

However, among experts, the unexpected zeal of deputies and security officials raises doubts about the effectiveness of the proposed measures. There are a number of provisions that have a strong impact on the number of accidents and which the authorities have not been able to solve. One of the main problems is the high level of corruption in the traffic police.

The average bribe of a drunk driver to a traffic police officer is now 100 thousand rubles - the new legislation will significantly increase this amount, says Chairman of the National Anti-Corruption Committee Kirill Kabanov. “Can you imagine, if a person faces life imprisonment, how much money can he give? He can give everything, just not to go to jail,” the expert noted in an interview with the Kommersant FM radio station.

The aspect of corruption must certainly be taken into account when making amendments - to prescribe the procedure so that a bribe to the traffic police or doctors is not possible, Kabanov believes. He also draws attention to the fact that the culprit of the accident on Minskaya is a former employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, whose license for drunk driving has already been taken away.

“Look at what former officials, government officials, and their children are actually doing here,” the corruption expert concluded.

The introduction of a total alcohol test raises certain concerns among experts due to the fact that, according to the latest version of the law, the driver should not have any alcohol in his breath.

Tightening liability may affect law-abiding citizens, warns the President of the Russian Federation of Car Owners, Sergei Kanaev. Under current law, a driver who has taken medication, or even a person whose blood produces alcohol naturally, can be considered drunk.

United Russia promises that this aspect will not be ignored. “We plan to submit this to the State Duma as part of the package of all the proposals made,” said United Russia member Lysakov.

Let us recall that from 2007 to 2010 in the Russian Federation, a driver was considered drunk if his blood contained more than 0.5 g of alcohol, and his exhaled air contained more than 0.25 mg of alcohol.

In world practice, such values ​​are used to separate drunk drivers from those who produce so-called endogenous alcohol in their blood.

However, ex-President Dmitry Medvedev considered that Russians would perceive these figures as an opportunity to drink a little while driving, and now drivers must be crystal sober - 0 ppm.