The Supreme Court alongside the Interior Ministry of Russia has endorsed Irina Yarovaya’s proposal to seize vehicles from drivers who have had their driving rights revoked. This stance, reported by a major national outlet, signals a hardening of enforcement for traffic offenders and underscores a broader shift toward stricter accountability on the road.
Defendants who lose their driving privileges and continue to violate traffic laws could face criminal actions that include confiscation of their vehicles. This approach ties penalties directly to the misuse of a revoked license, aiming to deter violations by removing the core asset used in traffic misconduct. In practical terms, the policy would mean that a driver who has been stripped of the right to drive would confront a consequence more severe than a simple fine for repeated infractions, creating a tangible disincentive to disregard restrictions on driving privileges.
Officials propose enhanced personal responsibility for those who drive after losing their rights or who never possessed them. Recurrent violations would trigger steeper fines, rising from thirty thousand rubles to as much as one hundred thousand rubles in certain cases. The most decisive part of the package suggests impounding the offender’s vehicle under specific high-risk circumstances, such as driving under the influence, steering in the oncoming lane, extreme speeding violations, or when an individual has previously faced charges for driving without a license. The idea is to escalate penalties in a way that changes the cost-benefit calculation for risky behavior on the roads.
Back in February, Yarovaya floated the concept of removing cars from reckless drivers. Since then, commissioners have drafted amendments to both the Administrative Offenses Code and the Criminal Code. The conversation at that time highlighted concerns about repetition of violations in the current system, where offenders can rack up multiple fines without a lasting consequence. Yarovaya emphasized the need for a framework that stops the cycle of repeated violations and aligns sanctions with the seriousness of the underlying offenses, rather than letting offenders pay their way out time after time.