Tightening of sanctions for "tipsy" ride

The Interior Ministry's request to increase the criminal liability of drivers re-caught on drunk driving should be accompanied by a goal to strengthen the requirements for procedural registration and investigation of such offenses. This was reported to the REGNUM correspondent by the lawyer of the "YUST" Law Firm Andrey Orlov on February 9, commenting on the amendments to the art. 264.1 of the Criminal Code ("Violation of traffic rules by a person subjected to administrative punishment"). According to the new rules, the maximum terms of deprivation of liberty want to increase to four years, and the amount of the fine - up to RUB 500 thousand, as well as to exclude punishment in the form of forced work.

"It's not a secret that criminal cases under Article 264.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are initiated on the basis of a report by a traffic police officer who removed a driver from driving a vehicle, for sure many of us have heard at least one story about how a person who did not actually manage a vehicle in a state of intoxication, was brought to administrative responsibility and deprived of a driver's license. The lawyer, leafing through the case materials, often finds in it several significant procedural violations concerning «Unfortunately, not always courts agree with such arguments of lawyers, habitually noting that the court has no reason not to trust the traffic police officers".

Read more