The Ministry of Transport wants to toughen the punishment for driving with dirty numbers

The Ministry of Transport sent a proposal to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to toughen the responsibility of drivers driving a car without license plates, with closed license plates, or with “modified” license plates. Now for this, under Part 2 of Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, either a fine of 5,000 rubles or deprivation of “rights” for 1-3 months is due. But this is not enough for the Ministry of Transport. The reason for the sudden “excitation” of the department was the practice widely used by truck drivers to circumvent “automatic” sanctions for overloading by hiding license plates.

Now in Russia there is a network of about 300 automatic points of weight and size control, equipped with photo and video recording systems. When sensors in the roadway detect an excess load on the axle of a passing car, the camera “clicks” on its license plate and then a “letter of happiness” appears. Under Article 12.21.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, for overloading the driver faces a fine of 1,000-10,000 rubles, and the truck owner – 100,000-500,000 rubles.

To avoid such expenses, truckers, before passing the “framework” of the control line, simply cover up the license plates of their trucks with dirt or hang them with a rag. Having passed the “danger zone”, they return the GRZ to its original form and continue to move as if nothing had happened. The problem of driving with overload worries the Ministry of Transport from the point of view of the safety of highways, since cars with increased axle loads break up roads faster.

Fighting dirty trucker numbers is, of course, wonderful. But the trouble is that the punitive proposals of the Ministry of Transport in this area are worded in such a way that tougher penalties for such an offense will apply not only to truck drivers, but also to owners of cars with a hydraulic seal, soiled with mud flying from under the wheels.