Fine for drunken driving to be comparable with cost of average car - Shuvalov
GORKI. Oct 5 (Interfax) - Drunken drivers will pay a fine comparable with the cost of an average car and will be deprived of a driving license for up to three years, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said after a traffic safety conference chaired by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Friday.
The government insists there must be no permissible dose of alcohol in a driver's bloodstream.
"Administrative fines for drunken drivers must grow a lot. Experts suggest the fine must be comparable with the cost of an average vehicle," Shuvalov said.
"Apart from paying the fine, the first offenders will be deprived of a driving license for approximately three years," he added.
The fine must be tangible for "the driver and his family, and the driver must realize that the fine would be a heavy burden for his family and him," he said.
The government will discuss whether to levy the same fine throughout the country or to permit regional authorities to set the fine rate within the minimal and upper limits set by the government, Shuvalov said.
"In case of a recurrent offense, criminal charges will be brought against the drunken driver: the fine will be very large and the drivier's license will be revoked for a certain period," he said.
The government does not support the idea to differentiate the degree of alcohol intoxication.
"Most of the conference participants called for a full ban on alcohol in the driver's bloodstream," he said.
The proposals will be considered for the next three weeks before the bill is submitted to the State Duma, Shuvalov noted.
