Careless drivers get a fine: how to overcome distractions while driving

Successful foreign experience

To resolve the issue, Dmitry Davydov suggests looking at other countries. In Spain, drivers drive carefully so as not to harm other road users. Nothing behind the wheel should restrict movement, obstruct the field of view or distract. You can not drive in uncomfortable shoes or barefoot, ride in a swimsuit or with a bare torso. Passengers are not allowed to put their feet on the front panel. For violation, you can get a fine from 80 to 200 euros (5,000–12,400 rubles). The new rules allowed Spain to take the fourth place in terms of road safety in the EU, from 2010 to 2020 the number of accidents in the country decreased by 44%.

French laws oblige drivers to be always ready to make a maneuver of any complexity. You can also get fined here for wearing inappropriate shoes, as well as driving with headphones on, listening to music that is too loud, eating food, and wearing make-up. Violators are issued from 75 to 135 euros (4,600–8,400 rubles).

Emergency-dangerous realities of Russia

To date, in our country there are no legislative measures that force drivers to get rid of distractions while driving. At the same time, the problem of accidents is quite acute. In 2020, a survey of 2,305 drivers found that 3% of respondents were in an accident due to distraction. Almost half of the participants, 49%, confirmed that they habitually take their eyes off the road, and 5% do it often.

Another study showed that sliding shoes on the foot increased the stopping distance by 0.13 seconds, or 3.5 meters, at a speed of 97 km/h. Also, slate often slips and gets stuck between the floor and the pedals. Traffic police officers note that the abuse of cosmetics while driving also poses a risk of an accident.

“Going on business and without business, many drivers fulfill their needs right in the car, driving it. Some snack, others shave or put on makeup. All this leads to distraction, and in the event of an emergency on the road, it slows down the reaction and, as a result, can lead to a traffic accident. Any uncomfortable shoes, whether they are high heels, slates, or the absence of any at all, while driving also significantly increases the risk of an emergency on the road, ”says Vladimir Goncharov, a member of the Guild of Russian Lawyers.

How to deal with reckless drivers

Dmitry Davydov proposed introducing administrative liability for a number of violations. These include driving with dangerous shoes or barefoot, eating and applying make-up while driving, and using headphones while driving or playing excessively loud music.

There is no doubt that these actions seriously distract drivers from the road. At the same time, the absence of a ban at the legislative level allows citizens to often rush to do their usual things while driving, not thinking about the potential danger and threat of a fatal accident.

It is necessary to develop in drivers the awareness that being distracted from driving by any extraneous actions is dangerous and prohibited by law. Easy-to-implement administrative measures, successfully tested in a number of developed countries, will be able to reduce injuries and deaths on the roads of Russia.

“The introduction of additional articles into the Code of Administrative Offenses will increase the responsibility of drivers and will contribute to their prudence, which will help reduce the number of traffic accidents,” lawyer Vladimir Goncharov is convinced.

The reaction of the authorities

Author’s suggestions “20 ideas for the development of Russia” were sent to government authorities. At the end of December 2021, answers came from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice. Head of the Department for Work with Citizens’ Appeals of the Main Directorate for Ensuring Road Safety A.E. Goryunova replied in an official letter that Davydov’s proposals were taken into account.

The answer came from the Ministry of Justice. After reviewing the above materials, Deputy Director of the Department of Criminal, Administrative and Procedural Legislation V.V. Nikolaeva also said that the proposals of the author of “20 Ideas for the Development of Russia” have been studied and taken into account.

In early August 2022, Dmitry Davydov again turned to the authorities. The author emphasized the importance of imposing a fine of 3,000 rubles for dangerous and boorish driving in Russia and again drew attention to the importance of a number of other potentially dangerous behavioral habits of drivers. “Of course, such a measure will discipline reckless drivers and reduce cases of dangerous driving. However, it is worth paying attention to the driving style, which does not contain risky maneuvers or aggression, but nevertheless is no less dangerous,” he concluded, referring to examples from a number of countries. If the driver does not remain vigilant while driving and is distracted from the road, then this is considered a violation, regardless of whether this led to an accident or not.

According to the author of 20 Ideas, today such a legislative measure is extremely important for safety on Russian roads. In the existing realities, there are many driver distractions that can cause an emergency. At the end of the appeal, Dmitry Davydov again asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice to approve at the legislative level administrative responsibility for the following violations: driving in inappropriate dangerous shoes, eating and applying makeup while driving, driving with headphones with both ears blocked. Thanks to such innovations, more responsible driving behavior among Russians will be formed. By borrowing the experience of countries where deaths and injuries from traffic accidents are much lower than in Russia, one can get closer to the targets for reducing social harm from inattentive driving.

The ideas of Dmitry Davydov are receiving great support in the federal media. Simple implementation and the amount of potential benefits make them attractive to millions of people in our country. To implement the initiatives of the author of the project, the proposals need the full support of the state authorities.