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- This is not a kindergarten: fines for violations during transportation of minors have been increased
This is not a kindergarten: fines for violations during transportation of minors have been increased
The State Duma adopted amendments to the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, significantly increasing fines for violating the rules for transporting children in cars. For ordinary drivers who do not use child restraints, the penalties increase by one and a half times, and for taxi drivers — by half. Experts are ambivalent about these changes, believing that they will lead to taxi drivers refusing orders for trips with children. The details are in the Izvestia article.
Child safety is a priority
On December 17, the State Duma adopted amendments to the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation immediately in the second and third readings, toughening responsibility for violating the rules of transportation of children.
Now the fine for transporting a child in violation of traffic regulations for individuals is increasing from the current 3 thousand rubles to 5 thousand rubles. For officials, the sanctions increase from 25 thousand rubles to 50 thousand rubles, and for legal entities — from 100 thousand rubles to 200 thousand rubles.
According to current traffic regulations, children under the age of seven must be transported in a car only in a child restraint system. If a child is over seven years old, but because of his height or weight, the child car seat is no longer enough for him, then it is allowed to transport him in the back passenger seat of the car. But at the same time, he must be fastened with a regular seat belt so that the diagonal strap runs over his chest and not over his neck, the Traffic Police emphasize. At the same time, the department recalls, various straps, adapters, fasteners, seat belt pads and other similar items are not child restraint systems (devices) — the corresponding changes to the traffic regulations came into force at the end of July.
— The use of such surrogates when transporting a child is unacceptable and is a direct violation of traffic regulations. Their use is fraught with the most serious consequences in the event of an accident," said Police Colonel Anton Belan, Deputy head of the Department for Road Safety Promotion and Prevention of Child Traffic Injuries at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.
As follows from the explanatory note to the adopted draft law, an analysis of administrative practice has shown that in the period 2020-2023, there has been an increase in the number of offenses related to the transportation of children. So, if in 2020 504.9 thousand resolutions were issued on them, then in 2021 their number increased to 580.5 thousand. In 2022, 652.4 thousand fines were already issued for this violation, and in 2023 - more than 656 thousand.
According to the data of the State Traffic Inspectorate for 11 months of this year, the number of administrative cases initiated under Part 3 of Article 12.23 related to violations of the established rules for transporting children decreased by 11.9% compared to the same period last year (548.4 thousand resolutions). However, since the beginning of the year, 33.2% of dead child passengers have been transported without child restraints or were not wearing seat belts.
Taxi drivers have received positions
According to the text of the document, for transporting a child without a child safety seat, "persons engaged in business activities without forming a legal entity are administratively responsible as legal entities." At the same time, "individuals applying the special tax regime "Professional Income Tax" who have committed an administrative offense <...> are administratively liable as officials if such an offense is committed in the course of carrying out passenger and baggage transportation activities by a passenger taxi."
In other words, taxi drivers working as sole proprietors will face a fine of 200 thousand rubles for transporting a child without a child safety seat, and the self—employed - in the amount of 50 thousand rubles.
"They will stop taking orders"
The fine for violating the rules of transportation of children should be comparable to the cost of a child safety seat, said Igor Morzharetto, a member of the presidium of the Public Council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. Therefore, the decision to increase the fine to 5,000 rubles for its absence during the transportation of a child is fully justified, he stressed.
— But this fine should be the same for all drivers, regardless of whether they drive their car or are a taxi driver who has registered an individual entrepreneur or self-employed status. The introduction of fines of 50 and 200 thousand rubles for these categories of drivers may lead to the fact that taxi drivers, even those who have a child safety seat in the car, will simply stop taking orders for transporting passengers with two children or if the restraint device on board is not suitable for transporting a particular small passenger, Igor Morzharetto believes.
The current rules for transporting children involve the use of four types of child restraints, Irina Zaripova, chairman of the Public Council for Taxi Development and a member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia. A baby cradle and two classic car seats are quite large, and only a booster can be attributed to compact solutions, she noted.
— If we consider the situation from the point of view of the actual operation of a taxi car, it becomes obvious that the requirement to have a complete set of such devices, especially in several copies, is practically impossible, — Irina Zaripova is sure.
A taxi driver may encounter a situation where it is necessary to transport two children of the same age, which means that two identical full-size seats are required, she noted. As a result, the luggage space is completely occupied, and transportation of passengers with suitcases, for example, to the train station or airport, becomes impossible.
— In fact, carriers will be forced to choose which categories of passengers they can serve and which ones they cannot. It is passengers with luggage who are at risk in this situation, who may face an unexpected refusal to travel for no obvious reason. This creates a risk of reducing the availability of taxi services in the most sensitive cases — trips to train stations and airports," Irina Zaripova told Izvestia.
She noted that a fine of 50,000 rubles for a self-employed driver in the regions in some cases exceeds his monthly income, especially considering that most self-employed people work in a taxi as part-time jobs. In such circumstances, the fear of receiving a fine exceeding earnings becomes a serious demotivating factor, the expert believes. The chairman of the Public Council for Taxi Development said that the organization is already receiving signals from carriers that some drivers will prefer not to travel with children. Irina Zaripova fears that the new sanctions, especially in combination with other measures to tighten regulation of the industry, may lead not to increased safety, but to an increase in refusals to transport certain categories of passengers and, in the long term, to an increase in illegal traffic.
— A flexible solution is required. One possible option may be to create a system for renting child restraints in places of mass demand: train stations, airports, shopping malls, medical institutions, and kindergartens. This would allow drivers and passengers to use the seats as needed, without having to constantly carry a full set of devices in the car. Such mechanisms need to be discussed and worked out jointly with regulators and businesses so that safety requirements can be implemented in real taxi operating conditions," Irina Zaripova believes.
Equated to enterprises
The use of seat belts and child restraints is certainly a mandatory requirement, and the driver's responsibility for violating it is fair, Maxim Taxi emphasizes. However, the demand for trips with children is irregular, their share in the total volume of orders is small, the company notes.
— Most trips are made by adult passengers. And if drivers are required to carry child seats for different ages and weights of the child, then there will be complaints that there is not enough space for adult passengers and luggage," the company's press service noted.
Ivan Litvinov, head of the Association of the Self—Employed of Russia, noted that the industry is now facing a situation where fines and demands from individual drivers (self-employed) are equated with transport enterprises, without taking into account the economic specifics of their activities.
— The share of trips with children is less than 6% of all bookings, — he noted. — The largest aggregators give passengers the opportunity to order cars with a child safety seat in the app and by phone, and implement programs to improve child safety.
The driver, of course, is responsible for the safety of the child when completing the order, but often parents for various reasons do not indicate that a child restraint device is required, Ivan Litvinov noted. This leads to conflict situations. In his opinion, with an increase in the amount of the fine, there is a risk of unilateral liability, when the consequences fall only on the driver, although the initiative of the violation may come from the parent.
—There is a possibility that this may lead to an increase in the number of cancellations of travel orders with children and difficulties for families who really need such a service," he believes.
Valery Korneev, Chairman of the Digital World Union of Users of Digital Platforms, noted that having a child safety seat in the range of 3-7 years and a booster for teenagers under 12 is "not so unrealistic for taxi drivers."
"The health of children who may be injured in taxi accidents (they happen to them in cities with millions almost six times more often than to ordinary drivers) is most important," he said. — We consider such punishment to be quite adequate in order to force drivers to ensure the safety of the children they are transporting, and if it is impossible, to refuse to provide services.
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