Fine for driving without a license in 2021: driving, restriction of rights, punishment

There is only one case where you can find yourself driving without a license - during a training drive. However, the following conditions must be met:

• an instructor with driving experience and a special license must be located next to the student;
• the car must be equipped with special pedals for the instructor;
• the machine must be marked with the appropriate color scheme of the training machine;
• The car must not drive on the motorway.

Driving without a license

If you drive without a license, you can get into serious trouble. But it is necessary to distinguish between cases when there is no license in principle (for example, a person simply did not have one or had a license, but it expired, and the driver did not restore it) and it exists, but for some reason cannot be presented .

In the first case, you should rely on Part 1 of Article 12.7 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, and in the second you will have to pay a fine. Punishment for driving without a license after its deprivation can even be accompanied by arrest for 15 days.

Signs of drunk driving

A traffic police inspector can stop you for drunk driving, based on his observations or on a signal from other road users.

In traffic, a drunk driver is identified by inappropriate behavior:

• uncertain, unjustified maneuvers
• driving too fast or, conversely, inexplicably slow
• an attempt to “dodge” the inspector by quickly changing lanes

Upon arrest, the traffic police inspector will suspect the driver of drunk driving if:

• there is a smell of alcohol in the car (it will inevitably be there - a drunk driver drives with the windows closed)
• smell of alcohol from the driver
• on the contrary, the driver and the car smell too much of coffee or chewing gum
• the driver turns away and moves away from the inspector, breathes to the side, lights a cigarette
• the driver’s movements are sharp or, on the contrary, inhibited
• the driver's face turns red, his eyes shine, and he begins to perspire
• When asked to take a breathalyzer test, the driver reacts aggressively

Even if one of these signs is present, the traffic police inspector will begin the procedure of testing the driver for alcohol - using a breathalyzer or a medical examination.

Punishments for driving while intoxicated are regulated by Article 12.8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation https://www.zakonrf.info/koap/12.8/.

Intoxication is defined:

“the presence of absolute ethyl alcohol in a concentration exceeding the possible total measurement error, namely 0.16 milligrams per liter of exhaled air, or the presence of absolute ethyl alcohol in a concentration of 0.3 or more grams per liter of blood, or in the case of the presence of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances in the human body.”

• The driver can refuse a breathalyzer test and a medical examination, but in this case he will by default be found guilty of drunk driving.
• The punishment for drunk driving is imposed not by the traffic police inspector, but by the court. The inspector only collects evidence and draws up a protocol.

Table of sanctions for driving without a license

Who cannot be subject to administrative arrest?

The provisions on administrative arrest are regulated by Article 3.9 of the Administrative Code. It lists the categories of citizens to whom this sanction cannot be applied:

• to women at any stage of pregnancy;
• women with children under 14 years of age;
• persons under 18 years of age;
• citizens with I or II disability groups;
• to employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, penal system or employees of the Investigative Committee with special ranks;
• persons called up for military training;
• military personnel;
• members of the National Guard;
• employees of customs authorities, fire service.

The listed persons are only subject to a fine.

Both administrative and criminal penalties may be applied for driving without a license and while drunk. It will be easiest for those who actually have a driving license, but at the time of arrest they did not have this document in their hands (the person simply forgot to take it with them). Then you can get away with a fine and withdrawal of rights. If the rights have already been taken away for a similar crime, then the punishment is imposed in accordance with the Criminal Code. And the most severe measures are applied to those who committed an accident under these circumstances. The punishment in this case will depend on the consequences.

What are the consequences of driving without a license if you lose them and what to do?

A driver's license is an important document, but losing it does not threaten the owner with various penalties. Another thing is that the circumstances in question create a certain level of inconvenience, since the driver will not be able to get behind the wheel until he finds the loss or restores the documents.

• After discovering the loss, you must go to the local REO (registration and examination department) to apply for document restoration. There is a registration and examination department in almost every city, so there is no need to delay your application.
• In the case of theft, you should go to the police before contacting the REO. After receiving the application, department specialists must request information about the driver. This is not the fastest procedure, taking approximately a month. When the verification is successful, you will receive new rights.

Fine for driving without a license in 2021: forgot your document at home?

Forgotten rights at home is one of the most common reasons for the absence of such an important document at the right time. The person could simply leave them in another bag, but if you got into the car in the driver’s seat, punishment cannot be avoided and it is regulated by the Code of Administrative Offences, or rather Art. 12.3. The person must pay a fine of 500 rubles. In some cases, you can get by with just a warning.

For some citizens, a system of discounts is provided, which is half of the indicated amount - that is, 250 rubles. You have a limited time of 20 days to deposit 50% of the amount.

A police officer stops drivers, finds out that they do not have a license, and “pushes” them through the database. After the police officer receives the results, he indicates the exact fine. For citizens who have a document, but have forgotten/lost it, the penalties are the same, but for individuals whose document is missing or expired, the penalties are much higher.

It is interesting that at each traffic police post you can receive a new fine, since their number is not limited. Therefore, if you know that your driver’s license is at home, it is better to immediately return for it.

Fine for driving a vehicle without a driver's license: if the driver's license is expired

The reason - “Forgot your license at home” - will not always work, especially if a person’s license is expired. A few hundred rubles are not enough. Essentially, this is driving a car without a driver's license. According to Article 12.7 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (Part 1), you will pay from five to 15 thousand rubles.

Fine for driving without a license if it has been suspended

In this case, the already mentioned Article 12.7 of the Administrative Code appears again, but not everyone correctly understands the suspension of the certificate. This conclusion will only work after a trial. Then the validity of the document is frozen or cancelled. The court may make such a decision due to the driver’s debts or health problems. If a citizen who cannot drive gets behind the wheel, he will face a fine for not having a driver’s license of up to 15 thousand rubles.

Driving without a license after deprivation

If a person has committed an offense due to which he was deprived of a document so important for drivers, the fine for driving without a license in a car will be more severe than in previous cases, since Part 2 of Art. 12.7 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. The minimum penalty is 30 thousand rubles. Also, the violator may be subject to correctional labor for up to 200 hours or detained for 15 days.

Such harsh methods are fully justified, since it is understood that deprivation does not happen just like that, but is one of the extreme measures in case of malicious non-compliance with the rules. Further, the violator can only face criminal penalties.

Fine for driving a car by a person who has never had a driver's license

If a person does not and did not have a driver’s license, but he got behind the wheel, in this case the violation falls under Article 12.7 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. If stopped by a traffic police patrol, he faces a fine of 5,000 to 15,000 rubles.

The only exception applies to driving school students if they travel in a specially equipped vehicle with appropriate markings. The presence of an instructor with a driver's license and permission to carry out training driving is required.

Normative base

The basic principles for allowing motorists to drive vehicles are established by the following regulations:

1. Federal Law No. 196 on road safety of December 10, 1995.
2. Traffic rules adopted in the Russian Federation on October 23, 1993.

The rights to drive and operate a vehicle are granted to those drivers who have undergone training and passed the exams established by law at the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in compliance with all the requirements specified in regulatory documents. The right to drive a vehicle is confirmed by having a driver's license or driver's license.

When driving a car, the driver is required to have a driver’s license of the appropriate category or subcategory with him, and is also obliged to provide it at the request of traffic police officers. This is regulated by paragraph 1.2 of the traffic rules and paragraph 2.1 of the traffic rules.

Transfer of Control Capability

We found out that there is a penalty for driving without a license. But what will happen to a driver who voluntarily transfers the ability to drive his vehicle to a person who does not have a license?

In this situation, both subjects will be considered violators: the “disenfranchised” driver and the owner of the car, who voluntarily handed over control of the car. Penalties for the first of them have already been discussed in the previous parts of the text: from 5 to 30 thousand rubles. And the second person - the owner of the car or his authorized representative - will receive the maximum fine: 30 thousand rubles.

But you need to consider 3 important nuances of this article:

• if management was not transferred by the owner, then it is not he who is responsible, but the person who has the power of attorney;
• a fine cannot be imposed if the owner can prove that he did not know that the person to whom he transferred control had no rights;
• another condition of guilt is voluntariness (if the owner was somehow forced to provide the opportunity to control, then he does not bear responsibility).

In what situations are fines imposed?

There are many reasons for the lack of rights, and separate rules have been developed for almost every situation. Let's consider all possible circumstances for drawing up the protocol.

Now it is necessary to consider each case in more detail.

Who defines intoxication and how?

It is possible to assert that a person was driving while drunk only if there are irrefutable facts. The traffic police inspector is primarily responsible for establishing the presence of alcohol intoxication. When checking a driver, a traffic police officer may suspect that he is under the influence of alcohol. In accordance with Order of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation No. 308, issued on July 14, 2003, the primary signs of intoxication are:

1. Poor coordination of movements.
2. Tremor of hands and fingers.
3. Confused and slurred speech.
4. Redness of the facial skin.
5. Strange behavior: too excited or, conversely, too apathetic.
6. Smell of alcohol on the breath.
7. Breathalyzer readings taken on site.

A positive breathalyzer test or other signs, if the driver refuses to breathe into a straw, allow the traffic police inspector to send the offender for a medical examination. The procedure is carried out in medical institutions or specially equipped mobile units that have received the appropriate license.

Medical examination is performed exclusively by top-level medical personnel: doctors or paramedics in rural areas. The doctor must have access to carry out the examination process and make the final verdict. Each driver undergoes three alcohol tests at once:

• breathes into a breathalyzer;
• donates urine;
• donates blood.

Based on the totality of the results, a final act is drawn up, which indicates whether the person was drunk or not.

Motor vehicle management

Responsibility for “disenfranchised” driving of a motorcycle, tricycle, ATV, moped is the same as for driving a car.

However, they are worth focusing on for 2 reasons:

1. Two-wheeled motor vehicles are classified as “A”, mopeds are classified as “M”, and tricycles and ATVs are classified as “B” and “B1”.
2. Often drivers with category “B” believe that they can legally drive two-wheeled motor vehicles because category “B” is higher than “A”. However, this is not at all true: to drive a motorcycle you will have to pass a separate exam.

On our website there is a separate article about the specifics of fines for driving without the required category - “Fine for driving without a license in 2021”