Let’s explain what we’re talking about. According to part 3 of Article 1.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, a person who is placed under administrative responsibility is not obliged to prove his innocence. However, the explanatory notes to this article provide for exceptions. In the automotive area, drivers involved in offenses as defined in Chapter 12 of the Code of Administrative Offenses must prove their innocence, if detected using automatic photo and video recording systems.
As one of the bill’s authors, the head of the State Duma Committee on Labour, Social Policy and Veterans Affairs, Yaroslav Nilov, noted, the legitimacy of detecting certain administrative violations using video cameras is questionable. Therefore, a group of deputies has proposed to limit the number of rolling articles of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which are covered in the footnote to the article.
It is proposed to establish that the presumption of innocence does not only apply to six articles of the 12th chapter. That is, directors must prove their innocence:
- when driving too fast
- violation of the rules for the location of the vehicle on the road
- non-compliance with the requirements of signs and markings
- non-payment of toll roads
and (for trucks)
- for violation of the rules for moving a heavy or large vehicle
- default according to Plato.
As in other cases, those who decide the punishment will already be obliged to prove the guilt of the driver, according to the deputy’s letter, which is available to Za Rulem (the oldest automotive publication).
Because in some cases, for example when the violation was established on the basis of vague photos, where the belt went into the jacket or there was clearly another person behind the wheel, the driver has to prove the obvious things himself, and this is wrong.
“We believe that the adoption of this bill will ensure a balanced weighing of interests for all road users, increase the effectiveness of the use of these special technical means to prevent and detect administrative violations in the field of road traffic”emphasizes the letter.