Ukrainian lawmakers have decided to toughen the punishment for driving under the influence. The other day in the Verkhovna Rada was registered the draft law No. 6679, which was signed by 11 MPs from the different political factions. The document contains a number of innovations that not only increase the penalties for drunk driving, but also significantly expand the rights of police on the roads, writes UBR.
Under current law, lovers to ride tipsy calculated by a simple formula: if the driver’s blood found less than 0.1 ppm — he’s sober, and more — drunk.
The degree of intoxication is not important: the responsibility is the same for those who “gained” 0.2 ppm, and for those who drank on 2 ppm. The new bill proposes to slightly increase the allowable concentration of alcohol in the blood (up to 0.2 ppm), but to punish motorists, depending on the degree of intoxication:
The alcohol content in the blood
The sanction (non-taxable minimums (mtfi) period of deprivation of rights)
0,2-0,5
600 nmdg (10 200 UAH)
0,5-1,0
600 nmdg (10 200 UAH) + 1 year without a license
1,0-2,0
1 200 nmdg (20 UAH 400) + 3 years without a license
2,0 …
2 400 nmdg (40 UAH 800) + 3 years without a license
All the same — again
2 400 nmdg (40 UAH 800) + 10 years without a license
0.2 ppm equivalent to 200 grams of dry wine for men and 100 grams for women and 100 or 200 grams of champagne, 50, and 30 grams of vodka, 500 and 330 grams of beer.
The second important innovation: during the examination to confirm the fact of intoxication, along with urine and blood tests can be used to analyze exhaled air driver (the usual “tube”, applied in the initial stage of verification).
Now, during the inspection in the medical facilities of the driver often take biological samples (urine and blood), and breath — not in the bill. Changes spelled out in such a way that, if they accept in present form — motorists may have a choice: take a blood test for alcohol content, or simply “to breathe into a tube”.
Raids sober
It is also proposed to allow patrol police to conduct special operations to “catch” drunk drivers. For these raids even has the appearance of a new traffic sign.
The planned scheme of arrangement “traps” is as follows: police determine the area of the operation, exposing the special temporary signs. Entering to the area the machine will automatically fall under the total control to stop and check on any alcohol can.
“In the area of the special badge patrol can check for any machine, including transit passing. It is easy to guess that in case of adoption of this rule, such signs can zapestret neighborhoods with popular restaurants and Nightclubs,” said the lawyer of JSC yuf Ario Vadim Dynnik.
Drivers comfort: privacy and “ambush in the Bush” will not: date and place of inspection will report on the website of the national police, in the media and on social networks.
The lawyers also emphasize that the right to make a decision about the installation of the sign and test drivers in a particular location are requested to provide solely the heads of departments of the police patrol, which opens up opportunities for building corruption schemes. After all, it is easy to predict that the owners of elite institutions, where the rest of VIP clients will make every attempt to protect their guests from unnecessary trouble, including bribing police officers.
But if the driver, seeing “drunk” sign, do not want to enter the zone of its action, and, for example, will unfold, it will not save him. The patrol will stop and check for alcohol. Any signs of intoxication — slurred speech, red eyes, erratic behavior, staggering gait, etc. — will allow police to insist on the examination, including the application of technical means.
Capitation check
In fact, it is already defined in the SDA of the nine legal reasons for the stop (speeding, symptoms of the car, involvement in an accident, car theft, etc.), added another one: to check for sobriety.
“The police have the right to stop any vehicle. This leaves the space for manipulation is a patrol can make the report is actually unfounded. Will fix the failure to pass the examination, which will confirm two random witness, and then proves the opposite,” — said avtoyurist Bogdan Hladik.
To abandon testing for intoxication after the adoption of the new law will be virtually impossible. Now if there is a suspicion that the driver was drunk, but he doesn’t want to “breathe in the tube”, he might refuse, for what will be brought to justice (equivalent to driving drunk). But if you really did not drink, immediately after communication with the patrol to pass in any medical institution examination. With the medical conclusion about absence of signs of intoxication the driver has a real chance to achieve the termination of the administrative case through the courts.
“I would also note that a number of norms concerning the conduct of inspection of the driver for intoxication discharged inconsistent or insufficiently correctly”, — said Vadim Dynnik.
