Violation of traffic rules in Russia entails both administrative sanctions and criminal punishment. According to the Criminal Code, liability is established by Art. 264.
Object of encroachment
The subject who committed the act, the sanctions for which are secured by Art. 264 of the Criminal Code , encroaches, firstly, on safety during the operation of vehicles. Secondly, the actions of a person threaten human health and life.
Subject of action
They are directly mechanical vehicles. To qualify the act under the considered norm, they must be self-propelled (have an autonomous motor).
In h. 1 Article. 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides some types of such vehicles: trams and cars. In the note to the norm additionally indicated motorcycles, tractors and trolleybuses.
Another self-propelled (mechanical) machine can also act as a vehicle. Moreover, it can perform not only transport, but also other functions. This category includes, for example, agricultural (combines), road (pavers, etc.), loading (truck cranes, forklifts, etc.) and other machines.
Mopeds and other means with a motor, the volume of which is up to 50 cm 3 , and the maximum speed is not higher than 50 km / h, do not belong to mechanical vehicles. They are not subject to infringement under Art. 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation mokiki, bicycles equipped with an outboard engine, other vehicles with similar characteristics.
The nuances of the norm
Analyzing Art. 264 of the Criminal Code with the comments of the Plenum of the Armed Forces, it should be noted that the Court indicates the absence of a crime if the vehicle was moved manually when the engine failed. Violations committed by the driver, if any, are qualified under Art. 268 of the Code.
At the same time, the Plenum explained that if a car with an idle engine is towed by another vehicle, then its driver, who has violated the established rules, is liable under Art. 264 of the Criminal Code .
The objective aspect of the act
It includes a violation of the rules of the movement / use (operation) of vehicles established by law, which entailed:
- Serious injury to the health of the victim (parts 1 and 2).
- Death of one citizen (parts 3, 4) or several persons (parts 5, 6).
Vehicle movement
It starts from the moment when the car starts to move, and ends with a complete suspension of the chassis. Driving is called driving while driving.
Violations of driving rules should be considered, for example, speeding, improper overtaking or passing intersections, etc.
Vehicle operation
It includes a set of organizational and technical activities carried out to ensure the safe use of transport, according to its technical capabilities and purpose.
Violation of the operating procedure can be manifested, for example, in the transportation of an oversized item, the vehicle parking in an inappropriate place, the ability to drive the machine to inappropriate persons, towing the machine on a weak cable, etc.
Punishment
Sanctions are established depending on the presence / absence of qualifying features.
According to the general composition of the first part of Art. 264 of the Criminal Code threatens the perpetrator:
- Restriction of liberty up to three years.
- Up to six months of arrest.
- Forced labor or imprisonment for up to two years.
An additional sanction to the last two types of punishment may be a restriction of the right to conduct activities / filling positions established by a judge, but not more than 3 g.
In the case of committing an act while intoxicated, the punishment is toughened. Forced labor can be assigned for up to three years, and imprisonment for up to four years. The additional penalty specified above is also provided.
If the crime resulted in the death of the victim, according to Part 3 of Art. 264 of the Criminal Code , may be assigned to forced labor or imprisonment. The first punishment is assigned for no more than 4 years, the second - up to five years. Additionally, under Part 3 of Art. 264 of the Criminal Code , the culprit may be charged with a ban on activities / filling the posts established by a judge for three years.
If the victim died as a result of the act being committed by the subject while intoxicated, the latter faces only one type of responsibility. According to Part 4 of Art. 264 of the Criminal Code , he is charged with 2 to 7 years in prison. Mandatory additional punishment. The prohibition to carry out activities / replace posts determined by a court is assigned for a crime under Part 4 of Art. 264 of the Criminal Code for the period specified above.
In case of violation of the rules for the operation of vehicles or traffic rules, which resulted in the death of two or more citizens, the guilty person may be charged with forced labor up to five or imprisonment up to seven years. In addition to the punishment under Part 5 of Art. 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation prohibits the implementation of activities / filling the positions determined by the court for up to three years.
If the death of 2 or more persons was the result of an act committed by a citizen while intoxicated, one type of punishment is assigned. According to Part 6 of Art. 264 of the Criminal Code , the perpetrator is charged with 4-9 years in prison. In addition, the prohibition specified above is imposed.
Notes
For the correct application of the analyzed norm and Art. 264.1 of the Criminal Code, the legislator reveals the signs of a person in a state of intoxication.
Such a person shall be recognized as a citizen in respect of whom the fact of his use of substances causing alcohol intoxication has been established. This fact is determined by the presence of ethyl alcohol in a volume exceeding the maximum total measurement error provided by the Code of Administrative Offenses.
To liability in parts of the second, fourth, sixth art. 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation , subjects are also involved in whose body psychotropic / narcotic compounds or their analogues are identified.
A citizen in a state of intoxication is also a person who has evaded the fulfillment of a lawful requirement of a traffic police officer to undergo a medical examination on the grounds and in the manner prescribed by law.
Qualification Features
If the court, having examined the evidence, comes to the conclusion that the consequences given in Art. 264, occurred not only in connection with the violation by the citizen who controlled the vehicle of the established rules, but also due to non-compliance by their victims, this circumstance can be considered mitigating. For example, a passenger did not fasten his seat belt, rode a motorcycle without a helmet, etc. An exception is provided for cases when the driver did not ensure the safety of passengers properly. The relevant findings are contained in the plenary resolution of the Armed Forces No. 25 of December 9. 2008 with comments on Art. 264 of the Criminal Code .
Specificity of harm
To qualify actions under Art. 264 of the Criminal Code (part 5 including) it is necessary that the damage be caused to surrounding citizens. The infliction of harm to the driver by himself does not constitute an act.
If negative consequences have occurred in different parts of the norm, they are all charged with the culprit. However, the punishment is selected in the part providing for the most serious consequence.
In case of harm to several persons at the same time the crime is qualified according to the first part of the norm.
Causal relationship
Its presence is an indispensable basis for bringing to responsibility the entity that managed the vehicle.
A causal relationship is excluded if the citizen did not have a rule violation at all. For example, a pedestrian fell under a wheel by negligence or intentionally rushed under a moving car. At the same time, the physical relationship between the victim and the transported vehicle does not indicate a relationship.
In crimes against the safety of the operation of transport and traffic, causation is normative. Due to this, it is possible in the absence of physical contact. So, the driver will be punished if by his behavior he interfered with the movement, as a result of which other participants have already harmed third parties. So, the subject driving the vehicle and driving into the oncoming lane will be punished if it creates an obstacle for a person traveling along this oncoming lane, and he was not able to stop or avoid a collision, drove out onto the sidewalk and knocked down a man. The actions of the second citizen in this example should be considered in accordance with the rules of innocent damage or emergency.
Additionally
When considering the relationship between the actions of the driver and the consequences, the judicial authority must take into account the availability of technical capabilities to prevent the occurrence of harm. If it was not there, and the emergency situation was caused not by this person, but by other entities involved in road traffic, liability under the Criminal Code is excluded.
When considering the possibility of preventing an accident, the court must take into account that the moment of occurrence of the risk is determined individually for each situation. This takes into account the traffic situation that preceded the accident.