All about how much your license is deprived for driving while intoxicated for the first time and for subsequent violations

Good afternoon, dear reader.

Driving while intoxicated is one of the most serious offenses a driver can commit. Moreover, responsibility for this violation becomes more serious over time.

If a few years ago the driver only faced deprivation of his license, then in 2021 you can “earn” a large fine, forced labor, and even imprisonment.

In this article you will find out what punishment awaits a driver who gets behind the wheel drunk:

• Driving while intoxicated.
• Punishment for a drunk driver without a license.
• Repeated driving while intoxicated.
• Transferring control to a drunk driver.
• Table of penalties for drunk driving.
• Discount for paying fines.
• Amnesty for those deprived of their rights.

Liability for drivers while intoxicated is provided for by the following regulatory documents:

Code of Administrative Offenses Article 12.8 Code of Administrative Offenses Article 12.26 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation Article 264

Driving while intoxicated

The simplest option is for the driver to get behind the wheel while intoxicated:

1. Driving a vehicle by a driver who is intoxicated, if such actions do not constitute a criminal offense, -

shall entail the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of thirty thousand rubles with deprivation of the right to drive vehicles for a period of one and a half to two years.

The driver expects:

• deprivation of rights for a period of 18 to 24 months ;
• fine 30,000 rubles .

Punishments are imposed simultaneously.

Note. The exact same punishment awaits the driver who refused a medical examination for intoxication (Part 1 of Article 12.26 of the Administrative Code).

Punishment for a drunk driver without a license

The following variant of the violation is when a driver, deprived of his license or initially without one, is caught by the police while intoxicated:

3. Driving a vehicle by a driver who is intoxicated and does not have the right to drive vehicles or is deprived of the right to drive vehicles, if such actions do not contain a criminal offense -

entails administrative arrest for a period of ten to fifteen days or the imposition of an administrative fine on persons against whom administrative arrest cannot be applied in accordance with this Code in the amount of thirty thousand rubles.

The driver will face one of the following penalties:

• administrative arrest for 10 - 15 days ;
• fine 30,000 rubles.

Please note that the fine is imposed only on the following categories of citizens:

• pregnant women;
• women with children under fourteen years of age;
• persons under the age of eighteen;
• disabled people of groups I and II;
• military personnel;
• citizens called up for military training;
• employees of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, internal affairs bodies, bodies and institutions of the penal system, troops of the National Guard of the Russian Federation, the State Fire Service and customs authorities with special ranks.

Everyone else will be arrested.

Note. The exact same punishment awaits a driver who does not have a license and refuses a medical examination for intoxication (Part 2 of Article 12.26 of the Administrative Code).

Nuances and features of the procedure

In 2021-2022, the trend is to tighten penalties for violating traffic rules. Inspectors have increased rights and opportunities, and fewer and fewer court decisions are made in favor of drivers every year.

A possible amnesty at the end of 2021 was also once again rejected, with no statements made by officials in this regard. You shouldn’t delay paying a fine or surrendering your license because of amnesty rumors; they arise every year after any significant event.

Remember that you can lose your license not only by driving a vehicle while drunk, but also by transferring control to a person known to be drunk. Consuming alcohol or drugs after being stopped by an inspector is also a gross violation of paragraph 2.7 of the traffic rules, so we do not recommend drinking demonstratively on a police camera after two successful breathalyzer tests.

Repeated driving while intoxicated

The punishment for repeated violation deserves special attention. Let me remind you that a repeated violation is committed within 1 year from the end of the previous period of deprivation. In this case, the date the license was returned to the driver is important.

Let's consider article 2641 of the Code of Administrative Offenses:

Driving a car, tram or other power-driven vehicle by a person who is intoxicated, who has been subjected to administrative punishment for driving while intoxicated or for failure to comply with the legal requirement of an authorized official to undergo a medical examination for intoxication, or who has a criminal record for committing a crime while intoxicated. provided for by parts two, four or six of Article 264 of this Code or this article -

shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of two hundred thousand to three hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of one to two years, with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to three years, or with compulsory labor for a term of up to four hundred eighty hours with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to three years, or forced labor for a term of up to two years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to three years, or imprisonment for a term of up to two years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a period of up to three years.

So, for a repeated violation, the driver will receive one of the following penalties:

• Fine 200,000 - 300,000 rubles .
• A fine in the amount of the convicted person’s income for 1 to 2 years.
• Compulsory work for up to 480 hours.
• Forced labor for up to 2 years.
• Imprisonment for up to 2 years.

In addition, in addition to the penalties listed above, the driver will be deprived of his license for up to three years.

Please note that the crime is criminal, i.e. the driver may receive a criminal record . In this case, a criminal record is retained for 3 years (in case of imprisonment) and 1 year (for other punishments).

Judicial practice: punishment for drunk driving under Art. 264.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

This category of cases is considered by magistrates. When passing a sentence, the extent to which guilt has been proven in a previous criminal or administrative case is analyzed.

Courts also take into account how many times the suspected driver was stopped by traffic police for drunk driving and handed over materials for sentencing.

There are examples in judicial practice when a person convicted under Art. 264.1 a citizen gets behind the wheel drunk again. And then the punishment is toughened up to actual imprisonment. However, it may be replaced by a probationary period.

Some of the court cases are briefly described below. However, the initials of the people mentioned are fictitious.

Investigation errors

The magistrate of judicial district No. 1 of the Lyambirsky district of the Republic of Mordovia examined the materials of the criminal case against citizen Komarov on charges of involvement in a crime under Art. 264.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The investigator insisted that the defendant was driving while drunk, having previously been subject to administrative punishment under Art. 12.8 Code of Administrative Offences.

However, the judge was critical of the work done by the investigator. He noted that in the prepared materials and the indictment there is no evidence of Komarov’s participation in the commission of a previous offense.

In this regard, it is not possible to establish the presence or absence of guilt of the accused in committing the crime described in Art. 264.1 CC.

By the resolution of July 13, 2017, in case No. 1-26/2017, the materials of the prosecution were returned to the prosecutor for their transfer according to jurisdiction and a new inquiry.

Committing multiple offenses

The magistrate of judicial precinct No. 1 of the Altai region considered a criminal case against citizen Nikiforov on charges of a crime prescribed in Art. 264.1 CC. The investigation established that the defendant was brought to administrative responsibility under Art. 12.8 Code of Administrative Offences.

After this, the defendant was initially stopped again for drunk driving, and 2 weeks later he refused to undergo a medical examination. In both cases, Nikiforov admitted his guilt.

By a verdict dated May 17, 2017, case No. 1-18/2017, for each episode Nikiforov was sentenced to 150 hours of compulsory labor and deprivation of rights for two years. Taking into account the principle of absorption of punishment, the result was 240 hours of compulsory labor and withdrawal of rights for 2 years and 2 months.

If you have a criminal record

There are citizens who, after a verdict has been passed against them under Art. 264.1 of the Criminal Code, they drive drunk again. Thus, in relation to citizen Timofeev, the magistrate at judicial district No. 44 of Yakutsk issued his third verdict.

Moreover, the previous two convictions have not yet been expunged. As a result, the court considered it necessary to replace the compulsory labor with imprisonment.

Taking into account the unserved part of previous sentences, by the verdict of March 28, 201 in case No. 1-28/47-17, Timofeev was sentenced to 10 months of imprisonment with a one-year probationary period. At the same time, a three-year withdrawal of rights followed.

Transferring control to a drunk driver

In addition to the driver himself, who is in a state of intoxication, the person who handed over control to the drunk may also be held liable:

2. Transferring control of a vehicle to a person who is intoxicated –

shall entail the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of thirty thousand rubles with deprivation of the right to drive vehicles for a period of one and a half to two years.

In this case, the following penalties will be imposed on the driver (at the same time):

• deprivation of rights for a period of 18 to 24 months;
• fine 30,000 rubles .

Thus, the person who handed over control to a drunk receives exactly the same punishment as the driver himself while intoxicated.

Paragraph 12 of the resolution of the plenum of the Supreme Court No. 20 of June 15, 2021 contains the following features of bringing to justice :

1. For transferring control to a person in a state of intoxication, not only the owner of the car, but also another driver who directly transferred control to the drunk can be punished.

For example, the car belongs to Alexander. Alexander transferred control of the car to his son Boris by proxy. Boris handed over control to his friend Vadim, who was intoxicated.

In this case, it is not Alexander, who owns the car, who should be punished for transferring control, but Boris, who directly transferred control to the drunken Vadim.

2. The fact that control was transferred to a drunk driver must be proven by an official.

For example, if a drunk driver independently took the car keys from the shelf, and the owner of the car did not even suspect it, then no punishment should be imposed.

When is a fine imposed for driving while drunk?

The administrative regulations adopted by the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate, which was approved by order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, give the traffic inspector the right to “blow” the driver if the following signs are detected in the latter:

• Breath with a distinct alcohol odor;
• Unusual color of the skin of the face (very red);
• Unsteady gait and posture;
• Strange behavior;
• Incoherent speech.

If there are sufficient grounds to suspect the driver of drinking alcohol, the traffic police inspector has the right to require him to undergo an on-site medical examination using a breathalyzer.

This technical tool makes it possible to find out whether alcohol vapor is contained in the exhaled air. The Code of Administrative Offenses contains a clear definition of the state of intoxication. A driver is considered drunk if there is more than 0.16 mg of alcohol in one liter of exhaled air.

If a motorist refuses to “purge” on legal grounds, then the traffic police inspector is obliged to confiscate his driver’s license and send him for a medical examination to a laboratory.

In a medical institution, there are alternative methods for determining the driver’s condition: by analyzing physiological fluids (blood, urine).

The legislation of the Russian Federation currently does not have a clear criterion for these indicators, however, if compared with the established limit for exhaled air, the result will be from 0.3 to 0.35 ppm in the blood.

In this case, 0.05 is the difference that arises due to the physiological characteristics of a particular organism.

If the presence of alcohol in the blood is confirmed, the information is sent to the court. During the consideration of the case, the magistrate makes a decision on the guilt and responsibility of the driver for this offense.

Punishment for drunk driving without a license. Read here what the punishment is for handing over the steering wheel to a drunk driver.

Find out what awaits a driver for driving without a license after deprivation by following the link:

Table of penalties for drunk driving

Let's look at all the penalties listed above in table form: