Punishable by an administrative fine. Initially, the fine was the same as for a seat belt that was not fastened, but since 2013 it has been 3,000 rubles, which is quite comparable to the price of the seat itself. This should relieve drivers of the temptation to “get off with a fine.”
The driver must pay the fine. It is clear that a fine cannot be imposed on the child himself, because he is under 16 years old. But if the driver is not the child’s parent, for example, the parents are traveling with the baby in a taxi, then responsibility rests not with the parents, but with him. The taxi driver can try to negotiate with passengers who agreed to carry a child without a car seat, ask them to reimburse him for the amount of the fine, but they cannot be forced to do this.
Types of car seats
Child seats are certain groups according to the child’s age and weight.
Group 0+ – chairs for newborns and infants, i.e. up to one year, whose weight does not reach 13 kg. They differ from all other chairs in that they are installed against the direction of travel.
Group 0+/I seats can be installed forward or rear facing. The first provision applies to children from six months to one and a half years, the second - to older children. This group covers children weighing up to 18 kg and aged from six months to 4 years.
The seats of other groups are installed exclusively facing forward. Group I – 9-18 kg, 9 months – 4 years, I/II/III –9 months – 12 years, 9-36 kg, II/III – 3-12 years, 15-36 kg.
If the child's weight exceeds 36 kg and his height is more than 1.5 meters, but is under 12 years of age, he must be fastened with a regular seat belt equipped with a special adapter that does not allow the belt to slide onto the child's neck. People call this adapter an “indulgence,” because if it is available, traffic police officers often “turn a blind eye” to the lack of a seat when transporting children of any age category.
Requirements for car seats
Even if you have a car seat, the driver can be fined if you do not comply with certain rules regarding its use.
The seat should be installed in the safest part of the rear seat - in the middle or behind the driver.
The chair must be in good working order. External or internal damage to the frame, cracks and dents on the seat, and frayed belts are unacceptable.
If there is a seat in the car, but the child is not in it, but in the seat or in the arms of an adult, we can assume that there is no seat. Failure to match the child's age with the car seat is also punishable by a fine.
Laws regarding child car seats also exist in other countries. In France, a driver can be fined €90 for traveling with a child without a car seat, in Germany – €40, in Italy – €71. The American law is especially harsh: in the USA the fine for such a violation reaches $500.
An unhealthy trend has emerged in Russia where taxi drivers or directors of taxi companies are being held criminally liable for transporting children without a seat. How so? After all, violation of the rules for transporting children under 7 years of age is covered by administrative legislation, which provides for punishment in the form of a fine. It turns out that not everything is so simple when it comes to licensed transportation of passengers in a passenger taxi.
The worst thing is that there are already many such criminal cases in the country. For example, a number of media outlets have repeatedly reported that Russia has begun to initiate criminal cases against taxi drivers who transport children without car seats.
Even in Moscow, the first criminal case has already been recorded against a taxi driver who was transporting a child without a seat.
Why are drivers brought to both administrative and criminal liability for the same traffic offense? After all, there is one offense, which means the degree of responsibility should be the same. Well, the maximum fine may vary.
For example, there is a difference between fines that are issued to individuals and legal entities.
But when people are brought to both administrative and criminal liability for the same traffic violation, it looks, at the very least, strange and illogical. Let's figure it out.
We have studied judicial practice on similar matters. And we must admit, indeed, in a number of regions of Russia, criminal cases have been opened more than once against taxi drivers who violated the rules for transporting children - for example, a child was not riding in a car in a child seat, as required by law.
And what’s most interesting is that all such cases ended in convictions. No, the guilty taxi drivers were not imprisoned or sent to learn traffic rules in remote places. Most of them got away with large fines and naturally received unnecessary criminal convictions. And they were even more fortunate (if I may say so), since they were prosecuted under Part 2 of Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, namely under paragraph “b”. Here is an excerpt from the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:
- Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation Production, storage, transportation or sale of goods and products, performance of work or provision of services that do not meet safety requirements
Part 1. Production, storage or transportation for the purpose of sales or sale of goods and products, performance of work or provision of services that do not meet the requirements for the safety of life or health of consumers, as well as unlawful issuance or use of an official document certifying the compliance of these goods, works or services with safety requirements -
shall be punishable by a fine of up to 300,000 rubles or in the amount wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to 2 years, or compulsory work for a period of up to 360 hours, or restriction of freedom for a period of up to 2 years, or forced labor for a period of up to 2 years, or imprisonment for the same period.
Part 2. The same acts if they:
a) committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy or by an organized group
b) committed in relation to goods, works or services intended for children under 6 years of age
c) caused by negligence the infliction of serious harm to health or the death of a person, -
are punishable by a fine in the amount from 100,000 to 500,000 rubles or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of 1 to 3 years, or forced labor for a period of up to 5 years, or imprisonment for up to 6 years with or without a fine of up to 500,000 rubles or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to 3 years.
That is, for transporting children under 6 years of age in a taxi without a special child seat, the taxi driver faces criminal liability under Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Moreover, the same responsibility can be extended to the director of a company that is engaged in licensed taxi transportation of passengers. And getting off with a fine is still half the problem.
Please note that in addition to liability in the form of a fine, the article contains a line that indicates that the culprit may be held liable in the form of imprisonment for up to 6 years. We emphasized this measure of responsibility from an excerpt from Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Moreover, the judge will decide what punishment the taxi driver deserves, at his own discretion, guided, as they say, by the materials of the case.
Surprised? Can you imagine the shock of the taxi drivers who, when transporting children without a seat, thought that the maximum they would face was an administrative fine under Article 12.23 of the Administrative Code, which provides for liability for transporting children without a seat in the form of a fine of 3,000 rubles.
Do you feel the difference between 3,000 rubles and 6 years in prison?!
You will say that no one has yet deprived anyone of their freedom for such offenses? After all, all taxi drivers prosecuted under Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation were simply fined.
Yes it is. But they received unnecessary criminal convictions. In any case, this can now affect their future lives. After all, now in all databases they will be listed as criminally convicted persons. This means that, at a minimum, such people’s credit history will be damaged - at least for a long time, at most forever.
Also, now these drivers will not be able to get a job in government agencies. Yes, in principle, they will not be hired by any serious commercial organization either. But that's not the point.
When it comes to criminal liability for violation of traffic rules, for which individuals administrative responsibility is provided, then it becomes uneasy. No, we do not, of course, protect those drivers who transported children without child seat. But this does not mean that they deserve a criminal conviction and a large fine, which, by the way, can be an unbearable burden for many.
Also, bringing taxi drivers to criminal liability for transporting children without a seat does not guarantee that some judge who simply did not get enough sleep or came to work in a bad mood will not decide to impose a real sentence of imprisonment on the taxi driver instead of a fine. After all, you and I live in a country with a not entirely perfect judicial system.
Our judges are still guided by their inner convictions, and often do not listen to the arguments of witnesses and defense attorneys in favor of the accused. What can we talk about here? Of course, there is a risk that some irresponsible taxi driver will soon be charged with transporting a child without child car seat will end up behind bars.
But this may turn out to be the father of this child, who, in his free time from work, decided to use his taxi car, which has an official permit for taxi transportation, to take the child home from kindergarten or schools. And then what? It turns out that instead of a fine of 3,000 rubles, the child’s father may end up in prison?
Agree that all this is thought-provoking. Why did taxi drivers begin to be prosecuted? Here, of course, you need to ask a question to representatives of the State Traffic Inspectorate and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. After all, such cases had never happened before. Why in Lately Are similar criminal cases starting to appear? What, we didn’t have such an article in the Criminal Code before? Yes, no, it was. What then? What's happened?
What is the difference between ordinary drivers who transport a child without a child seat and a taxi driver? After all, a taxi driver is a person like everyone else and is not a legal entity?
But it turns out there is a difference if we correctly interpret our confusing and often incomprehensible legislation.
The whole difference is that if you are driving your own car, which does not have a license to transport passengers in a taxi (permit for taxi transportation of passengers), then for transporting children without a child seat, you can only be brought to administrative liability under Article 12.23 of the Code of Administrative Offenses R F, for which you will be fined 3,000 rubles.
But if you transport a child without a child seat in a car that has a taxi license, and especially since you are transporting a child as part of the instructions for taxi services, then, of course, you risk being prosecuted under Part 2, paragraph "b" of Article 238 of the Criminal Code RF. If you also Individual entrepreneur who has received permission for taxi transportation in his car, and you work for yourself, then transporting a child under 6 years of age can most likely result in criminal liability for you.
The worst thing is that formally this huge difference in liability between the administrative and criminal codes for the same violation of the law in the field of road safety is completely legal.
The only thing that raises questions is the actions of traffic police officers and others law enforcement, which previously did not prosecute drivers for such offenses. Now what has changed?
In general, all this is strange and again makes me think.
Let us repeat once again that we do not defend “bombers”, who indeed often violate traffic rules (often they do this in order to complete as many orders as possible during a shift) and often transport small children without car seats.
But the fact that they are being held criminally liable for transporting a child under 6 years of age without a car seat seems to us to be too much.
Considering that the majority of taxi drivers work for some taxi companies and other large companies, maybe it’s just time to slightly reconsider the level of responsibility of organizations involved in licensed taxi transportation, and not blame the bombers for all the sins?
There are also questions for taxi service aggregators who do not monitor their fleet and taxi drivers at all.
- For reference
- Let us remind you, for those who have forgotten or for some reason do not know. It is strictly prohibited to transport children under 7 years of age without a child seat in a car. Otherwise, an ordinary driver faces a fine of 3,000 rubles (). The taxi driver faces criminal charges. Then, if you are lucky, then a large fine, and if you are unlucky, imprisonment.
Driving a vehicle is always associated with the possibility of some kind of emergency. If motorists or pedestrians do not comply with traffic rules, the likelihood of a traffic accident increases significantly.
No one is immune from possible consequences that lead to road accidents. Emergency situation can occur at any time, and the driver is required to follow the rules of the road, as well as be as focused as possible on what is happening on the road.
It's really sad, but we can't help but talk about it. An accident can result in injury or even more tragic consequences. Both drivers and their passengers are at risk. At the same time, you should always be aware of the safety measures that are provided to reduce the risk of more serious injury.
It should be remembered that any injuries are most dangerous for young children. If adults can escape with relatively minor injuries, then the same injuries received by a small child may be incompatible with life. Therefore, it is extremely important to take care of the safety of the child before traveling in a vehicle.
For transporting children in a car child seat provided. This very useful device can really save a child’s life. That is why children must be transported in child seats.
For the absence of a child seat when a small child is present in the car, the car owner may receive a fine. This article will be devoted to this issue.
To indicate the seriousness of the entire problem raised, we should start with statistics, which will definitely not leave many indifferent. The data is indeed disappointing, which calls for more attention to be paid to the issue at hand.
If you believe the statistics, then 80% of children who died as a result of road accidents died precisely because car owners did not bother to properly ensure the safety of their little passengers.
Never forget or save on buying a child seat. In some cases, this device can save a child’s life. A fine is one thing, but the safety of a child is much more important than a regular administrative penalty.
Fine for transporting a child without a seat
Now we should move directly to the amount of the administrative penalty provided for by law for transporting a child, without a car seat provided for this purpose. The reader will be able to assess for himself the progress that has been made in adopting penalties for violators of this law.
The fine itself for not having a child seat when transporting a child was adopted back in 2007. It was from that time that the presence of a child seat in a vehicle when transporting a child became a prerequisite. True, at first the sanctions were more or less lenient.
From the entry into force of this law imposing a fine for driving without a child car seat until 2013, the amount of the administrative penalty was only 500 rubles. To some, this amount may not seem that serious, but what kind of money are we talking about if the problem is ensuring safety measures for children.
But in 2013, the amount of administrative penalties for this offense was increased several times. The fine for a child seat is no longer 500 rubles, but 3,000. Indeed, such measures are justified. Disappointing statistics show that safety measures must be taken without fail, because children's lives are at risk.
Rules regarding the carriage of children in a child seat, provide the following:
It should be noted that not a single modern vehicle does not have seat belts. Therefore, you can always take the required safety measures, even using the restraints that are already in the car. If the vehicle is already very old, and for some reason there are no seat belts, this in no case can serve as an excuse if the child is transported without using seat belts or a child car seat.
The rules clearly state the point informing motorists that the transportation of children under 12 years of age must be carried out only with the use of appropriate safety measures, and it does not matter whether the vehicle is equipped with them or not.
Additional information about restraint devices
Every car enthusiast who has ever been interested in this issue knows that there are quite a few many different types of restraints which are intended for transporting children. There are certain differences between them, namely that they can be used to transport different children. More detailed information will be provided below.
Child car seats used to transport children in vehicles can be divided into five groups. The smallest car seats can be used to transport children less than 9 months old and weighing up to 10 kilograms. The largest ones are intended for children over the age of twelve, whose weight reaches 36 kg. But there are also other groups.
Information about child seats
So, what types of child seats can be purchased by a car enthusiast:
In principle, it cannot be said that the stated parameters correspond to reality. Anyone can choose another child car seat that would be better suited for transporting their child in a car. Therefore it should based primarily on the child’s data, and not blindly follow the stated data.
If it is not possible to purchase a child car seat, you can turn to the help of special restraints that comply with GOST. Their advantage lies in their cost. It is less than the cost of child car seats. That is why sometimes car enthusiasts purchase these particular devices for transporting children.
These reinforcing agents are a set of flexible elements or straps. Their design also contains various buckles for adjustment devices, as well as fastening parts. There are types of strengthening agents that can be equipped with other means of protection. These include children's cradles and special shockproof screens.
What should you do when a fine is imposed?
A motorist should know what to do if a traffic police officer has decided to impose an administrative penalty for not having a child seat when transporting a child. Anyone can encounter this, so below are the Some tips for motorists:
Disadvantages of existing rules
Finally, it should be said about what are the disadvantages of the rules regarding the installation of child seats in vehicles. Yes, this is a security measure and it’s worth a fine, but even here you can be outraged if you pay attention to the state of affairs.
There are some embarrassments that can lead to certain unpleasant consequences for motorists who transport their children. The fact is that there are a number of situations when motorists cannot transport a child while using a car seat. For example, a child just cannot sit properly or suffers from cerebral palsy, which simply physically does not allow him to be in a child car seat.
Any motorist who transports children without the required child seats or restraints can find themselves in a very unpleasant situation. The fact is that in our country there is simply no provision for a unified approach to bringing to justice in cases where the violation is ongoing. This means that a car carrying children, but without car seats, can be stopped along the road by several different traffic police inspectors. And each of the traffic police officers can issue a fine to the violator. Even if the latter already received a fine a couple of hours ago.
Also, do not forget about unscrupulous drivers. Unfortunately, the traffic rules simply do not contain a clause on mandatory presence of a child's birth certificate during its transportation. In this case, no one would dare try to deceive traffic police officers by saying that their child is already 12, even in cases where this is not true.
Statistics show that 8 out of 10 children involved in a fatal accident and injured were not provided with safety. This is associated with the lack of fastening or the absence of such a device as a child car seat. In this regard, a law on car seats was already introduced in Russia back in 2007, which prescribed a fine for the absence of a child seat, but it was symbolic - 500 rubles. This amount coincided with the fines for driving without fastening a seat belt. Only in 2016, violators were able to experience material damage by paying a fine for driving if the child was not wearing a seat belt or was in a car without a seat belt. The fine for transporting children without a car seat in 2017 remained unchanged and is equal to 3,000 rubles.
By law, both the driver and all his passengers must wear seat belts. According to the Traffic Regulations 2016 and the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (Article 12, Part 23), a driver who did not buy a special seat for children and did not install it in his car while transporting a baby will pay 3 thousand rubles. In 2017, the fine for transporting a child without a car seat remained the same.
A logical question arises: until what age should a child ride in a car seat? The law reads as follows:
- you are obliged to place a minor in an equipped seat for children if he is under 12 years old and up to 150 cm tall. In this case, the child sits in the front seat;
- If the baby is not in a seat in the back of the car, you should fasten him with a belt or other means that complies with GOST.
By the way, the lack of fasteners for installing additional seat belts does not at all mean the ability to transport children without protection, so even if you have an old car, you must take care of installing at least seat belts. Remember that the law prohibits transporting a child without protective equipment and there are no concessions in 2017!
Child seats can be placed either on the back of the sofa or in front Types of Restraints
Not everyone knows whether the traffic police is allowed to transport children using various protective devices and for what age this or that method of transportation is suitable. New law, which is also valid in 2017, divides all devices into age categories - from 0 to 12 years. Traffic rules 2016 - 2017 regulate the following 5 groups, into which devices that restrain children are divided according to their weight and height:
For parents of children 12 years of age and older, the law allows transportation of children without a car seat in the car. When meeting with traffic police officers, if they have questions regarding the safety of your children, you should show them a birth certificate, which allows the absence of a car seat. So in 2017 you will not face a fine for not having a child seat.
Up to 5 years old, the seat must have heel-mounted belt fixation How to save safely?
There are several reasons that prevent you from buying a child seat, and among them is the lack of sufficient space in the car. If the fine in 2017 for a child seat hits your pocket, but buying expensive car seats affects it even more. It's time to find out what people have come up with to avoid paying such penalties.
A safe alternative to a child seat is a restraint device regulated by GOST R 41.44-2005. It must contain:
- straps or elastic elements with adjustment using a buckle;
- additional shockproof device (special screen);
- mounting in the cabin.
From 7 to 12 years old, no classic chair required Taken together, the device plays the role of a motion limiter during braking or an accident, preventing the occurrence of serious injuries.
According to crash tests, the homemade design, although it protects, does it much worse than a special place. The advantage of a homemade design: you will not have to pay a fine for driving without a child car seat. But given the dubious nature of fasteners in an accident, it is recommended to use homemade devices only as a temporary measure.
Peculiarities
After reading the law on car seats, realizing that you face a fine for transporting children without these devices, choose it very responsibly. Be sure to take into account the baby’s opinion to find out whether certain parameters of height, width and comfort are suitable for him. It will help in choosing, and you can also familiarize yourself with it, which includes a couple of dozen models.
How to behave when a fine for a child seat catches up with you? It must be paid no later than 60 days after the relevant decision for not wearing a seat belt comes into force. This happens 10 days after the violation. In this case, if desired, the decision is challenged by the dissenting driver in court. By the way, penalties can be imposed twice if the driver did not have time to acquire a special seat for the baby.
