Total drink driving ban in Russia
President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a bill enforcing a zero alcohol limit for drivers, the Kremlin said on Friday. Every year, one million Russians are caught for drunk driving.
The new legislation aims to eliminate drink driving accidents, which are all too common in Russia. The bill was approved by the State Duma and the Federal Council earlier in July, the Kremlin’s web site reads.
Current legislation allows drivers to get behind the wheel with a blood-alcohol level of 0.03 percent. This was understood by many people as a permission to drink and drive.
According to Head of the Federal Authority for Road Traffic Safety Viktor Kiryanov, one million drivers are caught for drunk driving every year. – These are only the ones we catch, who many drunk drivers are there that we don’t catch? he says to RIA Novosti.
Road traffic injuries are already among the top ten causes of death and disability in Russia. Some 35,000 people are killed and 215,000 are injured in 184,000 traffic accidents in Russia annually.
Read also: Traffic accidents cost Russia 22.5 billion EUR
State Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov earlier said tougher punishments for drunk driving enforced in the past few years, including the suspension of drivers’ licenses and penalties of up to 15 days in jail, had been effective.
According to Gryzlov the number of car accidents caused by drink drivers had decreased by 11 percent and the number of those killed in such accidents dropped 35 percent in the first five months of 2010, RIA Novosti reports.
