OREANDA-NEWS The State Duma in the first reading approved the bill on liability for drunk driving, TASS reports. As a punishment, a drunk driver can have his car taken away or sent to jail for up to 15 years, depending on the consequences of a dangerous trip.

The document proposes to supplement Article 12.7 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation with the fourth part, according to which drivers who twice got behind the wheel while intoxicated will be fined 50-100 thousand rubles. Also, changes will be made to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, namely to Article 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Violation of the rules of the road and the operation of vehicles”.

Thus, a drunk driver who repeatedly gets behind the wheel can be sent to forced labor for up to five years or to jail for up to seven years if, during a dangerous trip, he caused serious harm to the health of another person. If the victim died, the violator can be imprisoned for up to 12 years. If there are more than two victims, the driver can face up to 15 years in prison.

It was proposed to toughen the punishment for dangerous driving in November 2021, as Russia remains one of the leaders in Europe in terms of road deaths. Entrepreneur Dmitry Davydov, author of the project "20 ideas for the development of Russia", believes that it is possible to improve road safety with the help of additional restrictions on drivers and increased control over pedestrians.