The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has developed an initiative that should allow citizens to record traffic violations using a mobile phone with a special application installed and send their feedback and information to the traffic police for registration and imposition of fines on traffic violators and those responsible for illegal parking.
In addition to the initiative with the application, amendments to the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses were developed, which should resolve legislative “inconsistencies” associated with the recording of violations by ordinary citizens. This all sounds not bad, but in practice it is not so smooth, more on that below.
Goals of recording traffic violators by citizens
On the territory of the Russian Federation, even without a mobile application, there is already a program in place to record traffic violations and receive information from the population.
Under this program, the initiative person is required to take a photo or video recording of the violation, send it to the traffic police and submit an application. Based on such a statement, traffic police officers are required to carry out an investigation, which includes analyzing the sent materials for falsification, and only after that a law enforcement officer can issue a fine to the offender.
The introduction of a mobile application and the legislative amendments that should accompany it will completely eliminate the possibility of falsification, as well as simplify the procedure for approving the fact of an offense and subsequently issuing a fine.
How to send a photo from your phone and report a violation?
The official mobile application recording traffic violations will work as follows:
- A citizen must install the application from the State Services portal, having previously logged in with his username and password. This is done to identify application users.
- How to complain about a traffic violation? When a traffic violation is detected, the user launches the application and films the fact of an administrative offense so that the car number is clearly and clearly visible, and also so that the fact of the violation can be accurately determined from the footage (for more information about whether ignoring traffic rules is an administrative violation or not, you can find out here).
- Where to send? After filming the violation on a smartphone, the citizen sends the footage to the traffic police, where employees manually evaluate all the data sent and, after analyzing the recording, issue penalties for the offenses.
Important! Since an Internet connection is required to send information and determine the exact geographical location of the shooting location, the fact of connecting to it will be a prerequisite for recording a crime.
Will there be bonuses for filing complaints? Or free?
As of February 2021, there is no decision on whether any bonus will be paid to the citizen who helped fine the offender. At the same time, an initiative is being considered at the government level, according to which the applicant will be paid 10% of the amount of the fine that was issued at his request.
Since 2015, a mobile application “Moscow Assistant” has been operating in Moscow to record traffic violations by citizens, with which you can report violations. Through it, residents of the capital can report violations of parking rules and non-payment of parking in paid parking lots. For this, they are awarded bonuses that can be exchanged for souvenirs or minutes of free parking in the center of Moscow.
Moscow authorities have launched an application that allows you to monitor compliance with traffic rules.
Despite the unprecedented measures to control parking in the city of Moscow, the capital still faces the acute issue of drivers’ compliance with current traffic rules. Of course, and certainly, first of all, the Moscow authorities pay attention to compliance with the rules for parking cars on the streets of Moscow. It's no secret that a huge number of such traffic violations in the Moscow region are directly related to improper parking of cars.
Over the past few years, Moscow authorities have significantly tightened penalties for non-compliance with traffic rules. In particular, control over drivers who park on city roads in unauthorized places (at bus stops, sidewalks, etc.) has been tightened. Thus, in order to identify parking violations, mobile parking meters are running in Moscow today, which record direct violations associated with parking cars in the wrong places. With the help of photo and video recording, park officers record such offenses and transfer them to the data center authorities, who subsequently send a fine to the owner of this vehicle.
But to our regret, it will no longer be possible to restore complete order in the city of Moscow with the help of such measures, according to the authorities themselves. Therefore, the city authorities have now developed a mobile application, with the help of which anyone using their smartphone will be able to record a violation of the rules of parking and stopping any car. The mobile application is called “Moscow Assistant”. This application is released both for Apple phones and for any smartphones that run on the Android operating system.
At the moment this application is working in partial mode. At first, the application will be able to record traffic violations committed only in the paid parking zone. In the future, the developers promise to set up the ability to record such offenses under the “Parking Prohibited” and “Stopping Prohibited” signs themselves, as well as in the area of sidewalks, pedestrian crossings and lawns.
In order to use such an application, you must first register on the official website of public services of the city of Moscow. Attention, dear motorists, if you are already registered or have been registered on this portal of “state services of the capital (Moscow)”, then you do not need to register again.
Next, you just need to download this application to your smartphone (phone).
For Android phones.
For Apple phones.
After downloading and installing the application on your phone, you must log in using your login, which you use to enter the public services portal of the city of Moscow.
Pros and cons of the program
The legislative initiative to introduce a mobile application for recording traffic violations in the everyday life of an ordinary citizen has obvious advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of such a tool include the following:
- The number of recorded offenses will increase, which means that the budget will be replenished by a larger amount and the state will be able to afford to invest more in road infrastructure.
- Citizens of Russia will be able to demonstrate an active civic position and help, within the framework of their powers and competencies, to suppress offenses on the part of road boors.
- Citizens of Russia, thanks to the emerging tool, will be able to increase internal civic responsibility for what is happening around them.
Unfortunately, this initiative is not without its drawbacks, most of which are purely technical:
- According to the current technical specifications for the application, in order to record an offense, a person will have to launch the application using the login and password from the State Services portal. This delay may not allow recording transient violations: driving through a red traffic light, disembarking passengers in the wrong place, and so on.
- The list of violations that can be recorded using the application from the traffic police looks strange. Thus, there are no violations for driving on the sidewalk or the side of the road, and these are the offenses that are easiest to record for a pedestrian.
- The bill does not stipulate the procedure for a citizen to challenge a fine issued to him for violating traffic rules based on an application through a mobile application.
Expert opinion
Suvorov Mikhail
Leading lawyer-partner of the Legal Center
My opinion is twofold. On the one hand, it is good that citizens will be able to actively fight traffic offenders, in particular illegal parking. On the other hand, how can a vehicle owner prove his innocence if his car was driven by another person? Also, a photo of the offender can be taken from an angle in which the “offence” will be visible, although in fact the driver did not violate anything.
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Mobile application for complaints about traffic violations: complicating simple tasks
Inconvenient and offensive
There is no application yet in nature, but there is a description of it - in fact, a technical specification for development.
And from this it is already clear that the legislator is “reinventing the wheel.” Firstly, using such an application will be inconvenient. Those who want to record a traffic violation will be forced to first register on the State Services portal, then download the application to their smartphone and, finally, log into this application, which is impossible in the absence of the Internet. Secondly, such an algorithm demonstrates clear disrespect for citizens who are obviously suspected of trying to falsify materials made using an ordinary camera or video recorder.
If the driver of another car wants to report a violation, then it would be much easier for him to use his DVR by downloading the video to his computer and sending the file by email. Not to mention the fact that using a mobile phone while driving is strictly prohibited, one can only imagine how much time it will take to work in a special application when a person is rushing to work or about his business.
In addition, by the time he enters some codes and a password for “Gosuslug”, all the violators will have quietly left, so there will be no one to shoot.
The application is only good for those who have a lot of free time. Having taken a position on some difficult section of the road, you can spend hours “catching” violators who are accustomed, say, to driving under a prohibitory sign or through a solid marking line. But sitting in ambush is the favorite method of work of traffic cops - ordinary citizens, as a rule, have no time for it. So who is this application intended for?
Strange selectivity
The second oddity of the bill is revealed when analyzing violations that can be recorded on the Unified Portal of State and Municipal Services using technical means with video recording functions and specialized software.
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The proposed amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses propose to fine car owners for violations of traffic rules across railway tracks, driving through a prohibiting traffic light signal or a prohibitory gesture of a traffic controller, violating the rules for driving through intersections, maneuvering and positioning a vehicle on the roadway, failure to comply with the requirements prescribed by road signs or markings, as well as for failure to give priority in traffic to pedestrians or other road users.
The question immediately arises: why was driving on the side of the road or on the sidewalk not included in this list? After all, it is precisely this kind of violation that is easiest to record for a pedestrian whose movement is impeded by someone’s car. Maybe the list should be clarified again?
Again without the presumption of innocence?
The explanatory note to the bill states that the video materials will be viewed by State Traffic Inspectorate employees. They are the ones who classify the violation and identify the driver by car number, and then, if there is reason, they will issue a fine. And although this will be done “only if there is sufficient data indicating the event of an administrative offense,” another logical question arises - how can a person identified by car number prove his innocence?
Currently, photo or video materials obtained with the help of devices that are not special technical means included in citizens’ appeals are subject to consideration only in conjunction with other materials (witness testimony, explanations of persons being investigated, etc.).
The authors of the bill really don’t like this, since “the consideration of such appeals entails significant time and resource costs for State Traffic Inspectorate employees in the process of proving the circumstances of the offense (calling the person who provided information about the offense event, identifying the alleged offender from data banks, calling him for questioning, establishing additional witnesses, deciding on the admissibility of video recordings as evidence).”
But it is precisely this procedure that makes it possible to eliminate abuse of rights.
In our country, there is already no presumption of innocence in cases where traffic violations are recorded by traffic cameras. But these cameras are installed according to special rules, they are certified, tested, and are announced on road signs.
If information about a vehicle allegedly violating traffic rules is received through a mobile application, then traffic police officers must judge the event of an administrative offense solely according to the law, that is, in compliance with all procedural rules.
Otherwise, we may face numerous cases of sweeping accusations, when, out of a sense of revenge or simply hostility towards the owner of the car, they will specially film it from an angle that would suggest a violation of traffic rules even where there was obviously none.
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As an example, we can cite cases of avoiding an obstacle through a solid line. You just need to film the “intruder” in such a way that the obstacle (which the person filming can deliberately place on the road) is not visible, but the fact of hitting the marking line is clearly visible.
Even in cases where the car owner receives “chain letters,” he is still protected from obvious errors. For example, recently a fine was canceled when the violating car was not moving under its own power, but on a tow truck, and this was clearly visible in the photograph. Although there is an obvious oversight by an employee who was obliged to look at the photo, make sure that there really is a violation and identify the violator - the tow truck driver who exceeded the permissible speed.
Amateur video footage should be viewed even more carefully to make sure that the violation was committed by the exact car that was captured in the frame, and that the location and time of filming correspond to those stated. Finally, that the person suspected of committing an offense does not have an alibi or any other justification (and for this he must be interviewed). Only after this can a fine be signed. Otherwise, we may face such chaos that we don’t even want to think about right now.
From the editor:
Unfortunately, when considering the initiative with a mobile application, we again come to the conclusion that any good idea can be ruined by poor execution by people without the good will to stop violations. For example, is it a good idea to punish aggressive drivers? Undoubtedly. Is there a danger that the “human factor” of traffic police inspectors will ruin everything? Eat.
It's the same with the mobile application. Is it fair that now, having filmed a violator on your phone, you then need to “walk with your feet” to the investigator and waste your time on testimony? No. Need to simplify the procedure? Need to. Is there a risk of police misconduct? As always.
The lawlessness of employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is, unfortunately, a certain reality in Russia, with which absolutely nothing can be done without radical measures such as lustration on the Baltic model. There are no prospects for lustration, and small private violators need to be fought right now. Therefore, I see no reason to “bury” the idea of a mobile application for complaining about violators.
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Existing mobile applications for Android and iOS
While the federal government is trying to approve at the legislative level the initiative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to record violations of traffic rules by ordinary citizens through a mobile application, the Moscow authorities and the social project “SPOT” have released their applications. Let's see what they are called and how a complaint message is sent with photos and/or videos recorded online.
Expert opinion
Suvorov Mikhail
Leading lawyer-partner of the Legal Center
Dear readers! When filing a complaint through applications, we advise you not to indicate contact numbers and home address. By law, it is enough to indicate the email address registered in the communication application.
8 (800) 350-14-90
Download SPOT to send violations to the traffic police (formerly traffic police)
The SPOT application works as follows:
- The user launches the application.
- Makes photographic recordings of traffic violations.
- Enters into the form the license plate number of the car that violates the traffic rules.
- Checks the validity of a specific address.
- Select the type of violation from the drop-down list.
- Sends an electronic application to the traffic police by pressing the appropriate button.
Reference! The application form is filled out automatically by the application; a unique email address is generated for submitting the application itself, which allows you to track the status of each individual application. - NIBDD employees consider all incoming applications in accordance with Federal Law No. 40 and Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs No. 707.
And they are required to respond to citizens electronically. This answer comes in the application.
It should be noted that the SPOT application can be downloaded for the two most common mobile platforms: Android and iOS.
Spot - we record facts of traffic violations using iPhone
Residents of big cities face transport problems every day. Some people get to work by public transport, some by car, and some by bicycle. But they all have one thing in common: each of the three types of people dislikes the other two. The reasons are also similar: too dense road traffic, careless driving and, of course, improper parking of cars. If the first point should be dealt with by road services, and the second by traffic police inspectors, then the developers of the Spot application propose to deal with the last by joint efforts.
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Here we will not discuss drivers who violate traffic rules by parking in the wrong places. Let's not discuss cyclists, who are guilty of the same thing. And, of course, pedestrians, who also often do not follow the rules. Not a word about the “activists” of “StopHam” and other movements and trends - all this has been discussed dozens of times on many sites. This article will focus exclusively on the application. How to use it (and whether to use it) is up to you.
So, Spot is an application that automates citizens’ requests to the traffic police. For example, you walk from home to the store along your usual route and notice that a car is parked at the pedestrian crossing. This is a violation of traffic rules, and most importantly, a threat to the life of a pedestrian, because due to an incorrectly parked car, the driver may simply not notice the person crossing the road. This is especially true in areas where children's institutions are located, such as schools, kindergartens and playgrounds.
You may be able to notice that the driver has left his vehicle and gone somewhere to run errands. And, most likely, he also did not leave contact information about himself. In this case, you take out your smartphone, launch the application and use the camera to record the violation. Next, you will need to indicate your real (!) full name with an email address (authorization via Facebook and VKontakte is supported), indicate the location of the offense on the map, enter the car number and give a description of the violation. After this simple procedure, your application will be sent for moderation and, if successful, to the traffic police. Ultimately, if law enforcement deems the violation to be legal, the vehicle owner will be issued a fine.
The service itself works in all regions of Russia, but the developers warn that “the reaction of the traffic police may differ from region to region.”
At the moment, recording of violations can only be processed for several points: - parking in the second row, - parking in places for the disabled, - parking on the sidewalk, - parking under a “No Stopping” sign, - parking on a pedestrian crossing, - parking on the lawn ( In this case, it works only in St. Petersburg, and the violation is recorded by the city administration, not the traffic police)
In order for your appeal to be moderated and accepted by the traffic police, you need to meet some conditions when photographing the car: 1. The license plate number of the car must be visible; 2. The photo must show the violation (for example, a sign prohibiting stopping next to the car); 3. Any immovable objects by which the violation can be determined (for example, a monument or, best of all, a sign with the street name and house number); 4. The picture should not show a driver driving a car, so that the situation in the picture cannot be interpreted in two ways.
To record everything, you are given five photographs to record, which is quite enough. An important point: the application has access rights to your smartphone’s camera, but will not allow you to download a photo from the gallery. This is done to prevent editing photos, as well as adding old ones.
And remember that the application is sent under your real name. If you send an application under a fictitious name, you may be prosecuted under Article 17.9 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
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