During the past year, 36% of drivers have received bribes from traffic cops. This is indicated in the final data of the survey of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Moscow Region (provided to socialbites.ca). 600 people participated in the survey.
One in three respondents stated that traffic police inspectors openly solicited or implied bribes.
According to the head of the Russian Motorists Movement Viktor Pokhmelkin, in the near future the problem of corruption in the ranks of traffic police inspectors will become more acute.
“In connection with the spread of video footage, the income of employees of the State traffic inspectorate fell sharply.
For those on patrol, the urge to take bribes grew stronger.
Salary of traffic inspectors did not increase seriously, life did not get better, given the current economic situation. The level of corruption has increased and will continue to grow – incomes are falling, but someone wants to live, ”says Pokhmelkin.
How to “raise”
Pokhmelkin says corruption actions of traffic inspectors can be divided into two types, with shares of 70% and 30%. In the first case, a traffic cop is ready to turn a blind eye to a real crime for bribery. The second case is when there is no violation or a fictitious abuse to the driver. To avoid risk, many drivers try to pay because they realize that it will be difficult to prove their innocence.
One of the most popular provocative tricks of traffic cops is the artificial creation of conditions in which the driver overtakes in a prohibited place on a long section of the highway.
“The entire route is patrolled by the traffic police. A slow-moving vehicle is left on it – an old bus, an obsolete truck.
In the end, drivers can not stand the nerves, they begin to overtake, they are stopped. There is nowhere else to go – you either go to court or pay immediately, ”says Pokhmelkin.
Most often, traffic police officers are on duty where a new video recording camera has recently appeared – on the plains, at a difficult intersection or where there is a short lane for overtaking before the beginning of a straight line.
“The main collection of bribes is on highways, because it is more difficult to find a criminal in the city who risks losing his license,” the source said.
Ways to encourage a driver to pay bribes are becoming more complex due to changes in the law, such as driving under the influence of alcohol becoming a criminal offense and increasing the penalty for drunk driving, he said. Collegium for the Legal Protection of Vehicle Owners (KPZA).
In one scenario, traffic inspectors stop the driver and offer to test on a “cheap Chinese breathalyzer,” Travin said. The driver may request to bring a certified breathalyzer, which should provide a printout containing the results, the presence of two witnesses, and a video of the inspection process.
“Traffic police warn the driver that a protocol must be drawn up if this device displays more than the allowable alcohol concentration. And again he suggests using a “Chinese” breathalyzer.
It is clear that in the dexterous hands of a traffic police inspector this device will definitely show something.
A frightened driver wonders if the bottle of beer he drank yesterday was the reason and agrees to bribe,” ”said the method of the head of KPZA.
Anton Shaparin, vice president of the National Automobile Association (NAS), says some traffic inspectors are trying to mislead drivers by using outdated speed controllers.
“Last year in Smolensk, they tried to accuse me of exceeding the speed limit by more than 60 km/h in a village using a portable radar popularly known as “fen”. It has not been used for a long time, as it makes it easier to spoil the results.
I just laughed, they say what museum this “hairdryer” was from,” Shaparin says.
Another broken method is associated with changes in the design of the car. Employees of the state traffic inspectorate threaten to ban the car from starting, claiming that it was illegally upgraded.
“Take the Maserati Quattroporte, for example. Who among the traffic inspectors knows the design of the model without a vehicle type approval certificate? How can they tell if the rims and turbo are in stock? Employees are trying to stop such cars and train drivers for money,” Shaparin knows.
What should drivers do?
KPZA President Travin explains that the methods of pressure by the traffic police in communicating with drivers have not undergone major changes.
“Fantasy rarely comes into play, because meeting the traffic cop with the driver is always stressful for the driver. The driver becomes a controlled rabbit staring at the boa constrictor. Drivers become very flexible, obedient and dependent, so there is no need to invent new complex roads, ”says the source.
The head of the Drivers’ Movement of Russia, Pokhmelkin, advises to keep a record of all conversations with the traffic police inspector and not accept the offer to go to the patrol car. And if a policeman implies bribery, you must pretend not to understand it.
“Most of the time, the traffic police will pull back if the driver behaves like this. After all, he needs to break protocol, and even if there is no real proof… He prefers to find a more accommodating driver,” notes the human rights activist.
In turn, Vice President (NAS) Shaparin recommends that drivers who encounter corrupt traffic cops have a lawyer or qualified lawyer’s contacts on their phone, as well as study the law, for example, to find out how the drunk test procedure works. being carried out.
Travin adds that sometimes the traffic police are wrong, considering the driver’s action as a violation. It happens when the traffic inspector hints at a bribe and threatens to draw up a protocol in accordance with Art. 19.3 of the Administrative Offenses Act for non-compliance with the legal request of a police officer, for example, if the driver refuses to transfer to a patrol car and allows the smartphone to be checked.
He concludes that to avoid such situations, drivers themselves must raise their level of legal literacy.
Source: Gazeta
