Ukraine prepares stricter penalties for regular traffic violations
In Ukraine, they propose to introduce stricter liability for drivers who systematically violate traffic rules. Possible measures include a penalty point system, temporary suspension of the right to drive a vehicle, and revocation of a driver's license. This was announced by the Head of the Patrol Police Department, Alexey Beloshitsky, on the air of "We – Ukraine" TV channel.
According to him, ordinary fines do not always stop drivers who regularly commit violations. When investigating serious accidents, the police encounter cases where the offender already had dozens of recorded violations, yet continued to get behind the wheel.
"For systematic violators, we understand that standard liability does not work; it must be different," explained Beloshitsky.
One of the options considered by the National Police is the application of experience from other countries where penalty points are accrued for violations. After accumulating a certain number of points, a driver may face not another monetary fine, but a more serious restriction — up to temporary suspension or revocation of the right to drive.
Speeding fines to be split by level of excess
The first step should be a new system of penalties for speeding. Draft Law No. 15348 provides for separate levels of liability depending on how much the driver exceeded the permitted speed: by more than 20, 40, 60 or 80 km/h. Beloshitsky expects the document to pass through parliament.
The draft law was registered in the Verkhovna Rada on 24 June. On 15 July, the relevant committee recommended including it in the agenda and adopting it as a basis in the first reading. As of 19 August, the document is still awaiting consideration by parliament, so the new fines are not yet in effect.
"Kurs Ukrainy" previously reported that the draft provides for a fine of 680 UAH for speeding by more than 20 km/h, 2040 UAH for more than 40 km/h, 2720 UAH for more than 60 km/h, and 3400 UAH for more than 80 km/h. For certain systematic violations, a fine of up to 17,000 UAH is proposed.
Ministry of Internal Affairs prepares additional measures
Toughening penalties is considered as part of a broader road safety reform. The day before, Minister of Internal Affairs Ivan Vygovsky reported that the Ministry of Internal Affairs had prepared proposals to combat systematic traffic violations for consideration at a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council. Special attention is to be given to passenger transportation and light electric transport.
Some measures do not require waiting for legislative changes. The Ministry of Internal Affairs plans to launch dozens of new automatic speed enforcement complexes this week. In addition, so-called "phantoms" are to return to the roads — special police cars without external identifying features that are capable of recording speeding while moving.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, before the start of the full-scale war, these cars managed to operate for about a month and during that time allowed more than 26 thousand drivers to be held accountable for speeding. The ministry emphasizes that future changes are not limited to increasing fines but should create a system in which repeated violations will have more serious consequences.
Based on materials from: "We – Ukraine", Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
