ATVs and snowmobiles are allowed to be driven with license categories A, B, C and D

Holders of driver’s licenses with categories A, B, C and D can now drive ATVs and snowmobiles – a tractor driver’s license will no longer be required for this. The corresponding law was signed by President Vladimir Putin on Monday; the amendments are already in effect. Moreover, if motorcyclists received the right to drive special equipment without any restrictions at all, then drivers of cars, trucks and buses – subject to rental agreements, preliminary instructions and, most likely, in a limited area.

The development of a bill allowing drivers of cars and motorcycles to drive snowmobiles and ATVs was announced at the end of November by the head of the Ministry of Economy, Maxim Reshetnikov. Let us remind you that in order to operate special equipment, it was necessary to obtain a tractor driver’s license from the Gostekhnadzor bodies subordinate to the Ministry of Agriculture. Now this is optional (previously issued certificates continue to be valid, if you wish, you can get new ones): published on Monday and immediately came into force amendments to laws “On road safety” and “On self-propelled vehicles and other types of equipment.”

Citizens who have category A or subcategory B1 on their driver’s license (quadricycles and tricycles with a motorcycle seat or motorcycle-type handlebars) can now drive “self-propelled vehicles” of category A1, that is, ATVs and snowmobiles, without any restrictions. Let us remind you that ATVs and ATVs are different categories of vehicles. The latter are buggies with an open interior.

Holders of a driving license with category B, C or D can now also drive snowmobiles and ATVs, but with certain restrictions.

To do this, the equipment must be used on the basis of a lease (hire) agreement, which provides for the “temporary transfer of a self-propelled machine to a citizen for control.” A prerequisite is to provide instruction on operation, as well as “ensure its safe operation.” The government will subsequently, judging by the text of the amendments, determine the rules for concluding and executing such agreements. The limitation, according to Kommersant, is due to the fact that drivers of vehicles with a car seat and steering wheel do not have the skills to drive vehicles with a motorcycle seat.

Violation of the new rules (as well as driving without documents) is fraught with sanctions in accordance with Art. 9.3 Code of Administrative Offenses: deprivation of rights for up to six months or a fine of 500–1000 rubles.

In September 2022, Governor of the Kemerovo Region Sergei Tsivilev proposed simplifying citizens’ access to special equipment, speaking at a meeting of the State Council on tourism development. This initiative, he explained, will give impetus to the development of the snowmobile industry in Russia. He cited data according to which in the United States the annual economic effect from this industry is $26 billion, in Canada – $7 billion. President Vladimir Putin supported the idea, after which the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Agriculture developed amendments.

At the discussion stage, according to Kommersant, the idea was discussed to allow owners of categories B, C and D to drive all-terrain vehicles, swamp vehicles weighing up to 3.5 tons, in the cabin of which there are no more than eight seats (self-propelled vehicles of category A2).

But they decided to put this idea aside for now.

“Simplification of access to driving snowmobiles is of great importance for the development of winter centers of attraction for tourists,” said Vladimir Trach, director of the department for implementation of projects in the field of tourism activities of the Ministry of Economy. “This measure will allow tourists to spend more interesting and eventful time on vacation, and the tourism industry to create educational and entertaining routes, conduct excursions and walks through natural attractions that are only accessible by snowmobile.” The bill brings the existing market segment into the legal field and expands recreation opportunities, adds Ilya Umansky, President of the Russian Union of Tourism Industry. Previously, due to tourists not having the required category of driver’s licenses, excursion organizers could not insure such trips, he said, but now this is possible.

The law that came into force, we note, was not publicly discussed. On December 11, two weeks after Maxim Reshetnikov’s statement, a table of amendments to the second reading appeared in the State Duma database to the law “On state control (supervision) and municipal control,” which the government submitted to the State Duma in early November. This document has nothing to do with a driver’s license, however, amendments regarding snowmobiles and ATVs were introduced by a group of deputies and senators (Andrey Kutepov, Nikolai Valuev, Dmitry Lameikin and others). The law in this form was adopted on the last day of the State Duma, December 15, and the Federation Council approved it on December 21.

Ivan Buranov