Law enforcement officers identified over 550 thousand drunk drivers on Russian roads in 2020. This was announced on Sunday, February 21, to TASS in the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
“The State Traffic Inspectorate officers suppressed 550.7 thousand cases of driving by drivers in a state of intoxication and those who refused to undergo a medical examination for intoxication,” the department said.
As specified, more than 68 thousand of them are attributed to criminal jurisdiction.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the number of drunken motorists and criminal cases initiated against them increased compared to 2019, but slightly – by 0.3 and 0.6%, respectively. However, the number of drivers who registered drug intoxication increased by 5%, the department said.
A criminal case is initiated against drunk drivers, if they were previously brought to administrative responsibility for similar actions. The violation provides for a sanction of imprisonment for up to two years and deprivation of a driver’s license for three years.
Earlier in February, the Moscow Department of Transport reported that violations of traffic rules by drivers were the main reason for road accidents in which people were injured. They explained that in 2020 over 2.5 thousand road accidents occurred because of this, as a result 140 people died.