The Rada proposes to return penalty points for drivers
30 October 13:48
Everything new is well-forgotten old. The Verkhovna Rada has registered draft law No. 14133, which proposes to return penalty points for violating traffic rules. According to MPs, this is supposed to encourage drivers to drive by the rules. [ Kommersant looked into the reasons why they are going to deprive drivers’ licenses of traffic violators.
The MPs propose their own scheme of penalty points starting with minor violations, such as not wearing a seat belt or not using the lights, and ending with an accident.
1 POINT – can be obtained for committing the offenses provided for:
Parts 3, 5, 6 and 8 of Art. 121 – regarding violations of the rules for the use of external lighting devices, as well as violations of the rules for passing intersections.
Article 121¹ provides for fines for driving a vehicle without a seat belt.
Article 121² (2) concerns driving a vehicle with a faulty braking system.
Article 121³ (1) regulates violations related to driving at traffic lights.
However, part 7 of Article 122 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (CAO) establishes a fine for stopping or parking in places intended exclusively for electric vehicles.
2 points for the offense:
art. 121(1), (7), (11) – absence of a first aid kit, fire extinguisher, faulty equipment, failure to pass a technical inspection, non-compliance with re-equipment.
art. 121², part 1 – lack of technical inspection or certification after conversion.
art. 121³(2) – installation of uncertified gas cylinder equipment.
art. 122(1), (2), (6) – speeding up to 50 km/h, violation of markings, traffic signals, rules of intersections, stopping, railway crossings, failure to comply with the police officer’s request to stop.
art. 122¹, paragraphs 1, 2 – violation of overtaking and distance rules, non-compliance with road signs and markings.
art. 122⁵ – violation of the rules for the use of external light devices or sound signals.
art. 123(1) – violation of the rules of convoys, overtaking and passing.
3 POINTS – for offenses under Article 121(2), Article 122(3) of the Code of Administrative Offenses (driving with dangerous technical malfunctions or gross violations of the speed limit – exceeding the speed limit by more than 50 km/h, driving onto the oncoming lane).
4 POINTS – for offenses under Art. 124, Art. 124¹, Parts 1, 2 of Art. 126 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (an accident without victims, but with damage to vehicles or property; driving without documents or permission).
5 POINTS – for offenses under Art. 122(4), (5), (122⁴), (2) of the Code of Administrative Offenses (speeding, which created an emergency, leaving the scene of an accident and entering a railway crossing when traffic across it is prohibited).
Points are canceled after one year (365 days) from the date of accrual. A driver’s license can be reinstated after undergoing repeated training and passing theoretical and practical exams.
At the same time, another additional article will be introduced – Article 27². Temporary suspension of a driver’s license (abbreviated). If a driver has 15 or more penalty points, or 10 or more for drivers with less than 1 year of experience, an authorized person of the National Police shall make a reasoned decision to temporarily suspend the driver’s license.
The decision takes effect from the date of its issuance and may be appealed in court within one month, but the appeal does not suspend its validity. The driver is notified by registered mail, as well as (if data is available) by SMS or email; the information appears on the Diia portal.
In order to renew the license, the driver must undergo training again and pass theoretical and practical exams. Upon reinstatement, all previously accrued points are canceled.
New penalty points – new problems
This penalty system is not new. In 2015, the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Improving the Regulation of Relations in the Field of Road Safety” was adopted.
However, the implementation of these provisions proved to be ineffective due to the controversial mechanism of preliminary points calculation, which allowed avoiding actual punishment.
Subsequently, this type of administrative penalty was excluded from the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses. And today, MPs have decided to implement it again, citing the fact that such a scheme has proven itself in developed countries.
According to lawyers, on the one hand, this is a good idea, but, as always, it may face poor implementation. In addition, what was adopted in 2015 remained on paper because the authors overdid it with the penalty points system, which is why the law did not work.
This time, the authors took a different approach – they reduced the number of points, but expanded the articles for their application. And now, as lawyer Andriy Varenyk told Kommersant Ukrainsky, they are going to add penalty points to the fines issued. And it will be like in football – you get two yellow cards, so you get a red card and you’re out of the game.
“Unfortunately, there may be abuse again. After all, we already have a practice where the police issue fines illegally. And drivers are forced to go to court, which means it will be a burden on the judicial system. That is, points will be issued along with a fine for traffic violations. If now, when a fine is issued, say, for speeding, everyone pays it and forgets about it, then you can also get an additional 3 points for it. And if you violate it again, you have to go back to get your license again. A huge number of administrative cases will overwhelm the courts,” says lawyer Andriy Varenyk.
And after the driver’s license is revoked, they will have to go through the driving school again to the MREO (or MREO). This means money, time, and nerves. And they will again receive a temporary license for two years, which then, if they drive without violations, will need to be changed again through exams at the MREO.
Unfortunately, as usual, in order to avoid getting a fine and penalty points to it, drivers will start offering bribes to the police to resolve all issues on the spot.
Author: Alla Dunina
