More than 500 violations in five years
The publication reported that Russian figure skater Alina Zagitova violated traffic rules almost 200 times in 2024 alone. “Next news”. If we count from 2019, the number of violations exceeds 500.
“The Olympic figure skating champion and TV presenter owns two cars: 2020 Porsche Macan and 2018 BMW X6 30d. In the first, there are 175 fines from January to November 2024, in the second there are 22 more. It’s all already paid.
“In total, from March 2019 to November 2024, 554 fines were imposed on both cars for a total amount of 497 thousand rubles.”
The skater ran a red light five times, exceeded the speed limit 401 times and disobeyed signs 65 times, according to PostNews. In addition, Zagitova was ticketed 18 times for stopping or parking her car in the wrong place, 14 times for illegal left turns or U-turns, and the same number of times for driving in bus lanes.
Why just a fine?
Lawyer Sergei Radko explained to socialbites.ca that he may face Zagitova due to numerous traffic violations. He emphasized that sanctions heavier than fines can only be applied in certain cases.
“Sanctions can only be stricter in cases of repeated violations (e.g. speeding or passing a prohibitive traffic light). And deprivation is possible only if the inspector reveals a violation and only he himself is driving.
In the case of camera recording only, in some cases there will only be an increased fine.
Additionally, one year after the fine is paid, the person will be considered unpunished, and new violations will be penalized as a “first step,” meaning they will be punished at the minimum level, Radko said.
Last year’s scandal was ignored
PostNews also notes that among the listed traffic violations committed by Zagitova is not the scandalous story from last year, when a skater in someone else’s Mercedes-Benz AMG G63 jaywalked and crossed the crosswalk by filming a video with her phone. at that moment.
The athlete posted a video on social networks in which he drove on the set of Krasnopresnenskaya. The use of mobile devices while driving is prohibited by traffic rules per se. But subscribers also noticed that Zagitova was crossing the crossing when the green light turned on for pedestrians. Accordingly, he was heading towards a prohibitive traffic light.
From the video the skater posted, it was difficult to tell whether he managed to cross the gate or stopped before the stop line. But later Telegram channel shooting published a recording taken from a fixed camera in which the fact of the violation is clearly visible. Zagitova apparently became distracted with her phone the moment the red light came on for her and continued driving. In the video taken from the camera, it is seen how pedestrians started walking immediately after his car crossed the pedestrian crossing.
“If a violation occurs and driving through a truly prohibitive traffic light, a fine of 1 thousand rubles is imposed. If this is a repeated violation within a year, then there is either a fine of 5 thousand rubles or deprivation of the right to drive,” explained Sergei Radko.
Sobolev violated traffic rules more than 500 times, Dzhikia – more than 2000
Athletes often make news about traffic violations. Thus, in July 2024, it was reported that Alexander Sobolev, who played for Spartak Moscow at the time and is now a striker for Zenit, committed 557 illegal actions while driving. The amount of fines amounted to 547 thousand rubles.
In November, it became known that former teammate Georgy Dzhikia, who now plays for the Khimki team near Moscow, had violated more than 2,000 traffic rules since 2021. In total, the football player was fined 2,148 times for a total of 2 million 32 thousand rubles. So, over the past 3.5 years, Dzhikia violated traffic rules in his car an average of 1.6 times a day.
The football player’s most common offense was speeding 1,915 times. He was also fined 138 times for not wearing a seat belt and 45 times for failing to comply with signs or signage requirements.
Sometimes athletes commit much more serious traffic violations, some of which end tragically. Armen Fishyan, the former goalkeeper of the Armenian youth football team, was in this situation. On March 23, 2024, while driving towards Mineralnye Vody at the 284th kilometer of the Caucasus highway, he hit a traffic police officer and the driver of another car.
The disaster occurred when the car driven by Fishyan slid from the left lane towards the median where the police lieutenant and the driver were standing due to violation. It was not possible to save the victims.
Fishyan tried to escape from the accident scene, but was detained 60 kilometers after the ‘intervention’ plan was put into effect. While the football player claimed that he had not had an accident, he could not explain the traces of blood on his body.
Another football player, CSKA Moscow’s Venezuelan forward Saul Guirirapa, attracts attention. astonishment How traffic rules are followed in Russia.
“I was very surprised by the local discipline. For example, everyone respects road signs and traffic lights, no one violates the rules,” he said in November.
As a matter of fact, many athletes, on the contrary, argue that people do not forget the need to obey traffic rules. State Traffic Inspectorate of the Chelyabinsk Region in September 2024 started “Attention at the beginning, traffic rules!”, in which leading South Ural athletes remind local residents of the importance of obeying traffic rules. regional campaign. One of the first to join the action was Traktor hockey player Artem Shuchinov.
What are you thinking?
Source: Gazeta
Gregory Robert is a sports aficionado and a writer for “Social Bites”. He provides in-depth coverage of the latest sporting events and trends, offering a unique and knowledgeable perspective on the world of sports.