Head of the traffic police: the 50 percent discount on a fine paid on time will not be canceled yet

What is the grace period for paying a fine?

This period can be considered a time period during which a motorist, in case of violation of driving rules, receives a discount equal to half the amount of the entire penalty. Further in the article about how long it takes to pay a traffic police fine with a 50% discount.

Rules for calculating the term

As a general rule, the deadline for paying a traffic police fine with a 50 percent discount for violating traffic rules is 20 days. At the same time, the moment of the beginning of this period is considered to be the immediate issuance of a protocol stating that such an incident actually occurred.

If the document is issued by an employee of the State Traffic Inspectorate, the driver puts his signature on it with the corresponding date. If the violation is recorded using cameras, he receives a notification with the date and month of drawing up the resolution. It is also worth noting that the answer to the question of how long it takes to pay traffic police fines with a 50 percent discount will be information that the law This means a calendar period of 20 days.

Is it possible to restore a discount on payment of a fine if 20 days have already expired?

The law gives the right to apply for restoration of the discount if the decision on the violation was delayed or did not arrive. Judicial practice confirms that this is possible.

In 2021, the driver was speeding. A copy of the violation order arrived in the mail too late, 20 days had already passed. The driver filed a petition first with the traffic police, then with the court, but was denied. Then he appealed to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.

The Constitutional Court considered that the official is obliged to notify the driver of the violation in a timely manner so that he has the opportunity to appeal the decision or pay for it at a discount. The driver's preferential payment period was restored, and in 2021, changes were made to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, establishing the opportunity to return the discount (Part 1.3-1, Article 32.2).

For which offenses the discount does not apply?

The Administrative Code (CAO) provides that the possibility of paying half the amount for committing an offense does not apply in all cases. Preferential conditions for paying a fine absolutely rightly do not apply to a number of serious violations that are expected to be committed by a person driving a car. Thus, the discount does not apply if the driver: is intoxicated or gives control to a person in a drunken state; repeatedly commits speed violations; is the culprit of the accident, drives into the oncoming lane.

Advice! If the subject of the violation is the driver drinking alcohol or crossing a double continuous line, then there can be no talk of a benefit - here we are rather talking about punishments of varying severity, provided for, among other things, by the criminal code. If, for example, an unreasonably dark tint or lack of insurance becomes a violation, then a discount is possible.

An approximate table containing a list of traffic violations reflected in the articles of the Code of Administrative Offenses, showing which fines can be paid with a 50 percent discount:

It is important to add that committing a violation related to illegal parking is not associated with the possibility of paying half the fine, since it is regulated by regional legislation.

What documents are needed to restore the fine discount?

There is no clear list of documents, but usually the driver or organization provides:

1. Extracts from postal registers or copies of stamped envelopes. Any information about when the resolution arrived in the mail and when it was sent to the culprit will help. In court, this will serve as evidence that the letter was not received due to circumstances beyond the control of the person concerned.
2. A copy of the completed letter notification with the date of receipt and signature of the recipient. It will help prove that the recipient did not evade and came to the post office as soon as he received the notification.
3. If the decision was sent to the wrong address - a copy of the passport with the registration page and an envelope with a mark where the decision was sent. For a legal entity - an extract with the legal address. It is to the registration address that the fine administrator is obliged to send a resolution on the violation.
4. Documents that confirm that the interested person, for objective reasons, could not pay the fine. For example, if the driver was treated in a hospital, you can provide a doctor’s certificate.

Payment options

There are many ways to pay a traffic police fine with a 50 percent discount. The most common option is to transfer funds in person - to the bank's cash desk or using a terminal located in it. However, there are other possibilities, for example, through the State Services website.

To do this, being registered on it, you need to select the special tab “Payment of fines”, after which you will be asked to enter data either about the car on which the rules were violated or the details of the relevant resolution - UIN or other number. There is also the possibility of paying a fine through the Sberbank Online service, the procedure is approximately the same. The application on your phone will prompt you to enter document data and select which card the payment will be made from. In both of the above cases, if the driver does not miss the 20-day deadline, a discount will be automatically added to the amount - and no receipts!

How can a legal entity restore a discount on a fine?

The same rules apply for legal entities and individuals. If the legal entity does not receive the decision on time for a good reason, the court or the traffic police will restore the discount period.

Thus, the court of first instance refused to restore Elestim LLC’s deadlines because the inspector sent the decision by mail in a timely manner. However, the letter was still delayed and the company did not receive a copy of the resolution on time; the 20 days had already expired. The regional court took this into account and decided to restore the discount (Decision No. 12-1554/2018).

Restoring the discount works not only for traffic police fines, but also for decisions of other departments. A company from the Amur region was fined MUGADN 250 thousand rubles. The resolution arrived by mail when the discount had already expired. The organization paid only half of the fine and applied to restore the discount first to MUGADN, and then to the court of first instance. She was denied. But the regional court restored justice and decided to restore the grace period (Decision No. 7-286/2020).

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Is it possible to pay on the last day of the deadline?

Most of the questions drivers have when they receive a penalty are related to exactly how many days are allotted to pay the traffic police fine with a 50 percent discount. And in this regard, the situation when a motorist pays money on the last day occurs often. However, in practice, it turns out that banks or Internet services need time to process the payment, and sometimes it exceeds one day.

It is important to know! And since we know that it is possible to pay a fine with a discount only 20 days from the date of the decision, 21 days - when, for example, the transaction is carried out, does not fall under this rule. To take advantage of the opportunity to save, the driver should take care of paying as quickly as possible.

In what cases can the discount period be restored?

The main thing is to prove that the organization or driver did not receive the letter on time for a good reason. There are no specific criteria for valid reasons in the law; the court decides whether to satisfy the complaint. The most common reasons:

1. The agency that issued the fine late sent a copy of the decision to the post office.
2. The post office sent notification of the registered letter late or the letter was lost.
3. The post office sent a letter to the wrong address.
4. The citizen had no real opportunity to obtain a resolution and pay the fine at a discount.

The Constitutional Court further clarified that the only official source of data is the Russian Post. Even if the fine can be found on State Services or in the Online State Traffic Safety Inspectorate, the paper decision should still arrive on time. If you haven’t received it, you can submit a petition and restore the discount.

You can also try to restore the discount if the driver was in the hospital, was temporarily incapacitated, or was in a helpless state.

It’s more difficult with a business trip or vacation; the courts rarely cooperate. But you can still try to file a complaint. You will need to collect a complete set of documents, which will confirm that all this time the driver was not at his place of residence and could not receive the letter. For example, a certificate from the hotel and a travel document.

Sample application for restoration of discount

Is there a benefit for repeat violations?

The law establishes imperative requirements that a 50 percent discount is not applied for repeated violations of the speed limit - more than 40 and 60 kilometers per hour. Also, the benefit is not established in the case of a repeated precedent when the driver drives in the opposite direction or drives through a red traffic light. Such violations are serious and are often punishable by deprivation of the right to drive a car. For less serious violations, if they are repeated, a discount on traffic police fines remains with the driver.

Head of the traffic police: the 50 percent discount on a fine paid on time will not be canceled yet

There are no plans yet to cancel the 50 percent discount on a fine paid on time. Former traffic police posts will be converted into “safety islands” where drivers will be able to receive assistance, including medical assistance. You can make an appointment with the traffic police to register a car or to replace a driver’s license by calling. The head of the Russian State Traffic Safety Inspectorate, Mikhail Chernikov, spoke about this at the final press conference.

According to him, now the level of citizens’ satisfaction with the quality of government services provided by the traffic police has exceeded the criterion established by the Presidential Decree . For 9 months of this year it “exceeded” 95 percent. 8.9 million applications were submitted for vehicle registration through the State Services portal or through the Multifunctional Center (MFC), of which more than 71 percent were submitted electronically. Regarding examination activities (and this includes the replacement of driver’s licenses due to the expiration of the statute of limitations), more than 5.5 million requests were submitted, more than 70 percent electronically.

At the same time, the head of the traffic police noted that many motorists and drivers still do not use the State Services portal , preferring to personally contact the traffic police departments. Because of this, some spontaneous queues form there. In order to finally get rid of such live queues, now, according to Mikhail Chernikov, the issue of organizing call centers at the MFC . If a person does not have the Internet, he is not registered on the State Services portal, he will be able to submit an application by phone : give his details, car identification number and make an appointment at the most convenient time and place of appointment. By the appointed time, the inspector who will receive it will have a completed application in hand, as well as all the preliminary checks carried out . Thus, admission to the traffic police will be even more simplified.

However, when exactly this innovation will work is still unknown . It is expected as early as next year.

Mikhail Chernikov also recalled the Road Safety Strategy and the May Presidential Decree, according to which road deaths must be reduced by three and a half times within seven years . As the head of the traffic police emphasized, we have very long distances that drivers have to overcome. And if a person feels unwell, he tries to get to his destination at all costs , instead of looking for the nearest first aid station. As a result, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Health have different statistics on mortality due to road accidents. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has it higher. And the Ministry of Health considers the cause of death of some drivers in road accidents to be their chronic diseases or acute conditions.

To provide drivers with rest on the road, and at the same time the opportunity to get examined by a doctor, they plan to organize some “safety islands” . “The infrastructure is all there. It just needs to be developed,” says Mikhail Chernikov.

Recently, we recall, there was a proposal to cancel the 50 percent discount on fines that were paid within 20 days from the date of the decision. Mikhail Chernikov was skeptical .

According to him, over the 11 months of this year, traffic police officers issued 122.2 million decisions to impose fines, of which 119.7 million could have been paid “at a discount.” In the amount of half the fine, 78.7 million fines were paid. That is more than 65 percent .

At the same time, car owners, according to the traffic police, have become more active in independently finding out whether they have received fines . This is evidenced by a multiple increase in the number of requests to the traffic police website. Since the beginning of this year, the service “Checking traffic police fines” has received more than 400 million requests. As Mikhail Chernikov emphasized, this suggests that the system of paying fines “at a discount” is one of the effective measures that contribute to the implementation of the principle of the inevitability of punishment. Therefore, the head of the traffic police concluded, there is no point in abandoning this system. “Our task is not to punish the driver , but to ensure road safety, to make it unprofitable to break the rules,” he explained.

However, Mikhail Chernikov noted that now the minimum fine is 500 rubles. When paying with a discount - 250 rubles. According to him, many drivers consider this a payment for fast travel : where the limit is 60 km/h, they drive 100 km/h. At the same time, the number of such violators is growing regardless of the increase in the number of cameras .

“If you introduce a fine of 200 rubles, and if you pay with a discount it will be 100 rubles, will more people be violated or less? — Mikhail Chernikov addressed the audience with a question. - More. This means that the current responsibility does not fulfill its main task - crime prevention.”

In his opinion, first it is necessary to create such conditions on the road that there is no desire to violate the law , and then ask in all severity. “And now we often have a 60 km/h sign . This is unacceptable,” says Mikhail Chernikov.

Is the discount still valid after an appeal?

There are very frequent cases when a motorist decides to challenge the imposed sanction, and these situations are always associated with the passage of the relevant procedural deadlines. So, keeping in mind the time period of 20 days, you need to take into account that on average it takes up to 10 days for an official to appeal a fine.

If the case is being considered by the court - up to two months. Suspension of the benefit period, as a rule, does not apply. In this regard, the motorist should be careful about the possibility of paying only half the price. Thus, the existing preferential conditions for paying fines - 50 percent of the total amount within 20 days - are actively used in the field of road transport. The collection rate has really increased, and drivers remember that they will not be able to get a discount for committing serious violations. However, motorists should not abuse the opportunity to pay half the amount, since the provided period, in fact, expires quite soon, and it is worth paying off the fine in the first days after the commission of the offense.

For what reasons may they refuse to reinstate the term?

1. If there is no evidence that the order was not delivered on time

For example, in 2021, the driver went to court and claimed that he did not receive a copy of the decision in a timely manner. But Russian Post provided evidence that it delivered everything on time - a printout from the mail tracking register. The court found that there was no reason to doubt the reliability of this information. The driver was refused.

1. If the letter is received by mail, but the driver or representative of the organization does not come for the decision

Often the registered or legal address differs from the actual one. The courts have repeatedly explained that citizens are obliged to ensure that correspondence is received at their place of registration. The fact that the letter was delivered to the registration address, and not to the actual one, is not a basis for restoring the discount.

The same applies to legal entities. They receive all legally significant correspondence to the address indicated in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. If the actual address differs from the registered address, and the organization has not received the letter, it bears the risks and will not be able to restore the discount.