Tougher sanctions passed first reading

The State Duma yesterday adopted in the first reading amendments to the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Offenses, radically toughening penalties for drunk drivers. But the main discussion was not around sanctions, but about the need to return the minimum blood alcohol content to the law. Without it, opposition-minded deputies believe, non-drinking drivers also risk becoming victims of the new rules. Parliamentarians will return to discuss this issue in the second reading of the bill.

Photo: Kommersant / Roman Yarovitsyn

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Photo: Kommersant / Dmitry Dukhanin / buy photo

Photo: Kommersant / Roman Yarovitsyn / buy photo

Photo: Kommersant / Nikolay Tsyganov

Photo: Kommersant / Roman Yarovitsyn

The amendments that the State Duma considered yesterday were prepared by the head of the Duma Security Committee Irina Yarovaya (United Russia). First of all, changes are made to the Administrative Code. For driving a car while drunk, the offender will not only be deprived of his license, as under current regulations, but will also pay a fine of 30 thousand rubles. A fine is added to the deprivation in cases where the driver refuses a medical examination (30 thousand rubles), as well as for repeated driving while drunk within a year after the violation was committed (50 thousand rubles). The second block of amendments concerns the Criminal Code. Thus, a new article is being introduced that allows fines of up to 200 thousand rubles. or arrest a citizen for up to six months if the driver was driving while drunk while deprived of his license. In cases where drunk driving led to an accident in which people died, the minimum term of imprisonment is established - 2 years (if 1 person died) and 3 years (if two or more died). As Ms. Yarovaya explained yesterday, taking advantage of the lack of a minimum standard, judges now often impose a suspended sentence for this.

It is curious that the original version of the bill envisaged an increase in the maximum terms of imprisonment for an accident with one death from 7 to 10 years and with two deaths - from 9 to 15 years. However, the Supreme Court opposed it: in this case, drunk drivers would be equated with criminals who committed serious crimes. Mrs. Yarovaya took this opinion into account.

Let us recall that the bill was the State Duma’s response to the high-profile accident on Minskaya Street, which occurred in September 2012. Then a drunk driver killed 7 people. In general, according to traffic police statistics, in 2011-2012 the number of accidents caused by drunk drivers began to increase, although from 2003 to 2010 it decreased. At first, it was decided to prepare a single bill from all factions in the State Duma Committee on State Construction, but due to disagreements in United Russia, in December Irina Yarovaya introduced her own bill, which was supported by 28 deputies, senators and the government of the Russian Federation.

The reason for disagreement in the ruling party was the issue of returning to legislation the norm on the minimum level of alcohol in the blood. The same topic caused a heated debate in parliament yesterday. The norm was canceled by Dmitry Medvedev in 2010. Nevertheless, in Western countries this practice is successfully used and makes it possible to separate drivers who deliberately drink while driving from motorists who have a small amount of alcohol in their blood and exhalation due to the characteristics of the body, the use of medications or even, for example, kefir ( this does not affect the ability to drive a car). In fact, the alcohol content threshold allows for more targeted application of harsh penalties to violators. Deputy Oleg Smolin (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) drew attention to the fact that the breathalyzers used by the traffic police have a measurement error and react to Corvalol, kefir and kvass. “One of my friends was chewing chewing gum, he was stopped by a traffic cop, and the device showed 0.3 ppm,” added spravoross Andrei Rudenko. “I would like the amendments not to turn into an instrument for punishing ordinary citizens.”

“We must understand who is considered drunk,” summed up LDPR deputy Yaroslav Nilov. “The norm was actually canceled due to the fact that the media began to present it as an opportunity to drink and drive, but this is not the case. There are many complaints from sober car owners for illegal prosecution, and the proposed formulation of the Criminal Code is simply dangerous.”

United Russia, in turn, focused on accident statistics caused by drunk drivers. “Why aren’t we discussing how to allow an airplane pilot to drink?” Ms. Yarovaya responded to the opposition. “We have already created an entire system that provides an objective assessment of the driver’s condition. Two witnesses are involved, and the driver has the right to be re-examined at intervals of 20 minutes.”

However, Ms. Yarovaya’s colleagues from United Russia, who spoke on her side yesterday, were not so categorical. “This bill does not regulate the issue of ppm, there are different expert opinions, this is a debatable issue,” said deputy Dmitry Vyatkin. “We are not touching on this topic now, it will be discussed here separately, and it will be hot,” added Alexander Khinshtein.

Immediately after the adoption of the bill in the first reading, the main Duma lobbyist for per mille, Vladislav Lysakov, submitted to the State Duma a bill to return the minimum alcohol content standard. It can be considered by parliament separately or in the form of amendments to Irina Yarovaya’s bills, which must be collected within a month.

Ivan Buranov

Corrections for drunk drivers