Any car owner is well aware that when driving while intoxicated, you can not only get into an accident, but also get a serious fine for drinking or even lose your right to manage the vehicle. However, due to the constant changes in the law and the unwillingness of some drivers to adhere to generally established rules, more and more violators are found today. That is why it is worthwhile to understand this issue in more detail.
What is the fine for drinking while driving is prescribed by law?
The amount of money charged depends on how many times the driver of the vehicle was "under-boss" at the time of driving. There are several options:
- A standard fine for a drink can be about 30 thousand rubles. However, it all depends on the circumstances in which the car owner was drunk. In exceptional cases, the traffic police officer has the right to even put a drunk driver behind bars for 15 days.
- To pay a fine for a booze in the amount of 300 thousand rubles will have to those who commit such an offense is not the first time. Also, at the same time, it will not be possible to get rid of deprivation of rights for 3 years.
Based on this, it becomes obvious that an extra glass of beer can be very expensive, so it’s better to control your wishes regarding alcoholic beverages.
How much alcohol is allowed to drink
If we talk about whether it is possible to use at least some alcohol-containing product before driving a car, then the answer is no. There is a minimum norm of alcohol, however, it is prescribed in the legislation only in order to exclude errors during the examination using a breathalyzer.
The fact is that the readings of the device can be positive if:
- the person has just smoked a cigarette;
- the driver consumes alcohol prescribed medications;
- a partial alcohol content remains in the blood of the car owner (for example, if he drank the day before the trip).
In this case, you must take into account the permissible level of alcohol contained in human blood. Today it is 1.6 ppm. This means that if the driver drank, for example, half a glass of beer, then the breathalyzer should not show the excess of permissible norms.
However, a value of 1.6 ppm is nominal. It is necessary to take into account the physiological characteristics of the body, weight, poor blood circulation and much more. In addition, even a few sips of beer should not be done if:
- together with alcohol, a person did not eat food;
- the driver gets drunk quickly.
Is it possible to do just fine?
It all depends on the level of intoxication of the driver. If a traffic police officer stopped a suspicious car, he draws attention to several aspects:
- how adequately the ATC driver responds to the fact that he was stopped;
- Does he have a characteristic smell of alcohol from his mouth?
- Does the car owner look drunk (redness on the skin of the face, rolling eyes, etc.);
- whether the driver’s coordination is disturbed (a person cannot walk smoothly or gestures strangely).
If at least something causes suspicion, the traffic police inspector has the right to ask the owner of the car to take a test on a special device.
Further, the inspector makes a decision: to take away the rights, to impose a fine for drinking or to let go in peace if the proportion of alcohol is too small to take any measures. The following factors are also relevant:
- whether such an offense was committed earlier;
- how much alcohol was detected during a breath test;
- in what situation the car owner was detained by a traffic police officer (he simply aroused suspicions when driving on the carriageway or due to his fault an accident);
- did anyone suffer from the actions of a drunk driver (if there were passengers in the car who were injured, even taking into account the primary offense, a standard fine for a booze of 30 thousand rubles will not succeed).
If the owner of the automatic telephone exchange commits an offense repeatedly, then in this case no mitigating circumstances are provided.
Provided that an accident has occurred, or the car owner has behaved inappropriately while driving, a simple fine cannot be dispensed with. In this case, the traffic police officer has the right not only to take away the rights, but also to detain the drunk driver for a period of 3 to 15 days.
Can the fine for drinking while driving be reduced
If the driver was caught drunk driving, then the law does not provide for other penalties. You will have to pay either a standard fine, or 10 times more. There are no other options.
At the same time, there is no way to challenge this amount, as it is prescribed in the law, which indicates new fines for drinking. On the other hand, this means that it is also impossible to increase the amount of penal payments, even by court order.
The only thing the PBX owner can do in this case is to ask for a deferred payment (for example, if he does not have the required amount of money with him). Nevertheless, the penalty for drinking should be paid in full no later than 3 months from the date of the offense.
Is it possible to drive a scooter while intoxicated?
Many mistakenly believe that if we are talking about this type of vehicle, then it is allowed to drink while driving. In fact, the scooter driver is a full-fledged participant in the traffic, respectively, in this case, fines and deprivation of rights for drinking are also provided.
At the same time, the amount to be recovered from the unfortunate driver is no different: for the first offense, 30 thousand rubles, for the second offense - 10 times more.
In addition, regardless of whether a person moved on a low-power scooter or a car, the law provides:
- deprivation of rights to a car for a period of 1 to 3 years (by court order);
- compulsory examination at a drug treatment center (if the results are positive, then the car owner is registered with a medical institution);
- imprisonment from 3 days to 3 years (based on the circumstances).
In some situations, the court may appoint 3 years of forced labor. Accordingly, in this case, the car owner gets off with a "condition".
It is important to understand that driving a scooter while intoxicated is much more dangerous, because in the event of an accident, the driver of low-powered equipment can suffer much more.
What threatens for causing serious harm?
In a situation where the driver, due to intoxication, injured pedestrians or passengers of the vehicle, the punishment is toughened. Therefore, we consider what the phrase "inflicting grievous harm" means. This phrase means:
- loss of full mobility;
- violation of the activity of any of the vital organs;
- loss of a child due to injuries;
- violation of the psychological state;
- disability and much more.
A forensic medical examination is carried out to assess the severity of the damage caused. If the fact of the presence of injuries is revealed or is absent, a milder sentence or imprisonment of up to 4 years may be imposed on the driver.
When penalties are tightened
Of course, only the fact that the person controlled the vehicle while intoxicated indicates that the car owner will be punished. However, these measures may be tightened if:
- traffic rules were violated;
- passenger or pedestrian were injured;
- ATS driver behaved aggressively and refused to undergo an examination with a breathalyzer;
- accident occurred.
Statistics
According to statistics, there are a huge number of accidents due to alcohol abuse. About 12 thousand accidents of varying severity occur annually. Unfortunately, this figure is not decreasing, but constantly growing.
Only tougher penalties can lower these horrific statistics. In addition, it is not enough just to tell the drivers of the ATC what a fine for a booze awaits them, it is also necessary to constantly conduct explanatory and preventive conversations with all graduates of driving schools.
Can they deprive of rights for life?
The legislation does not spell such penalties. However, do not relax, since annually preventive measures for drunk driving are tightened. To date, with a repeated offense, rights can be forfeited for 3 years. In the future, this period may be extended.
If we are talking about repeated offenses, then, for example, with a ten-fold violation of the law, the driver can be deprived of the possibility of driving for 100 years. In fact, this is the same as being left without a car for the rest of your life.
You need to understand that the penalties for drinking while driving are quite serious. In some situations, you can even be imprisoned for a rather long time. Therefore, it’s better to think a few times whether it’s worth the risk for an extra glass of beer or a glass of vodka. In addition, one should not forget that inattention on the road can lead to disability and even death of both the driver himself and passengers or pedestrians. And here such punitive measures as confiscation of rights and a fine are no longer so terrible. Drinking, or rather, its consequences - the most common reason for the accident with human casualties. It’s easy to pay a fine, but what if your life is in your conscience?