Drivers will be fined for violating temporary speed limits on information boards

The Ministry of Transport plans to strengthen the role of “dynamic information boards” and “variable information signs.” As a rule, they introduce temporary speed limits on the road when the weather worsens. Currently, violation of such regulations does not result in a driver being fined, but the Ministry of Transport intends to change this. The department included such an innovation in the draft government decree, which establishes the requirements for traffic cameras.

On Friday evening, the Ministry of Transport published on regulation.gov.ru a draft government resolution that for the first time introduces “rules for the placement of stationary, mobile or mobile means of recording traffic violations.” The need for such rules is provided for by the voluminous Federal Law No. 197, which comes into force on September 1, 2024 (“Kommersant” wrote about it in detail). This Federal Law establishes, among other things, the basic principles for the use and deployment of automatic systems. And the resolution will describe additional technical details – for example, where warning signs should be placed in front of the control zone.

In the first, non-public, version of the draft resolution (see Kommersant on November 7), the Ministry of Transport was going to prohibit the installation of cameras recording the same types of violations (for example, speeding) closer than 1 km to each other in populated areas, and outside the city – closer 5 km. But in the published version this clause is missing, Kommersant noted. The idea was “not to take the installation of cameras to the point of absurdity,” explained a Kommersant source familiar with the development of the project. But after discussion with experts, it was decided to abandon the restriction. Otherwise, this rule would make it difficult to control the roadway, for example, near schools, the distance between which is less than a kilometer – which does not happen so rarely. Then a separate complex would need to be installed near each educational institution, says Kommersant’s interlocutor, which seems impractical.

But the document contains norms that did not exist before. For example, about a situation when a driver in the camera coverage area violates the requirements established by “dynamic information boards” or “variable information signs” – most often they limit the speed on the Moscow Ring Road and major highways. The values ​​on the board usually change during heavy precipitation and fog: road services can quickly introduce a speed limit on the highway – for example, up to 60 km/h.

But now drivers do not receive fines for violating the requirements indicated on the board: the traffic police focuses only on permanent signs. After the resolution is adopted (it is possible that amendments to the traffic rules will also be required), drivers will still be fined. The document stipulates that in order to form an evidence base, a sign or board, as well as the restriction that is placed on it, must be clearly visible in the photograph for the chain letter.

Drivers are required to comply with the requirements of all signs, says Sergei Radko, lawyer for the Freedom of Choice movement, but the current traffic regulations do not disclose what exactly “dynamic information boards” and “variable information signs” are. “Therefore, it is not clear what violation of the traffic rules will be charged in such cases,” says the expert. “I will assume that we are talking about exceeding the speed limit established on this section of the road. To comply with the principle of the presumption of innocence, such regulations will need to indicate exactly when and how information about the change in speed limit was communicated to the driver. Forming an evidence base will not be easy.” “Today, no one perceives such boards as mandatory,” adds Anton Shaparin, vice-president of the National Automobile Union. “In addition, many of the boards’ instructions at speed are simply not read—advertising is often displayed on them, and drivers do not look there.”

From the point of view of traffic rules, the scoreboard is an ordinary sign, says Grigory Shukhman, an expert on violation recording systems. Mr. Shukhman supports the introduction of special requirements for photographic materials. “Of course, there remains a small probability of a situation where the variable information sign will switch in a split second after the car’s passage has been recorded. Practice will show whether this will happen in real life,” he reflects. The expert considers the refusal of the Ministry of Transport from the norm regulating the frequency of installation of cameras to be expected: “From the very beginning it was clear that in cities it was impossible to comply with this rule given the current policy of the regions to establish total control over traffic, parking and parking.”

The remaining norms of the draft remained the same as in the previous edition. Road services, for example, will have to install signs and traffic lights so that infrastructure objects (supports, etc.) do not block them from the driver’s view. If a mobile camera is used outside the city, its control zone may be indicated by signs or information boards. They will be placed at a distance of 150–300 m in front of the control zone, so that drivers can see them in any lane from a distance of at least 100 m.

The draft resolution allows for the installation of cameras in places where several accidents with injuries or deaths have already occurred, the OKO association draws attention (unites manufacturers and operators of cameras). But in those areas where, for example, there was only one accident with an injured person or several minor accidents without injuries, the installation of the complex is formally prohibited – although it is obvious that this is necessary for prevention, the organization emphasizes. Changes, the OKO notes, need to be made both to the draft resolution and to the law itself. Also, according to the organization, the so-called wearable photo-video recording devices (for example, tablets used in Moscow by AMPP inspectors) fall into the “zone of legal uncertainty” – the current version of the resolution only mentions “mobile” systems that must be mounted on vehicles, participating in road traffic (such as “parkon”).

Ivan Buranov