Changes in the law
Changes are made in a note to Article 12.8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. The article defines the responsibility for driving a vehicle by drivers who are in a state of intoxication.
| BEFORE | AFTER |
| Note. Administrative liability provided for by this article and part 3 of article 12.27 of this Code occurs in the event of an established fact of consumption of substances that cause alcohol intoxication, which is determined by the presence of absolute ethyl alcohol in a concentration exceeding the possible total measurement error, namely 0.16 milligrams per liter of exhaled breath. air, or in the case of the presence of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances in the human body. | Note. Administrative liability provided for by this article and part 3 of article 12.27 of this Code occurs in the event of an established fact of consumption of substances that cause alcohol intoxication, which is determined by the presence of absolute ethyl alcohol in a concentration exceeding the possible total measurement error, namely 0.16 milligrams per liter of exhaled breath. air, or the presence of absolute ethyl alcohol in a concentration of 0.3 or more grams per liter of blood, or in the case of the presence of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances in the human body. |
The concept of ppm will return to Russian laws in July 2018
But nevertheless, in April these misunderstandings were eliminated. After the State Duma adopted amendments to the law, they were approved by the Federation Council and signed by the president. 90 days after their publication, from July 1, 2021, they will come into force.
Thus, the concept of ppm appears again in Russia. Accordingly, the so-called “permissible limit of alcohol while driving” in ppm from July 1, 2021 will be the same 0.3 grams per 1 liter of blood.
It is clear that for an ordinary driver this amendment will not do anything in most cases. The newly introduced minimum level of alcohol in the blood does not allow drinking and driving. This rule only eliminates certain injustices that occurred before its entry into force.
What changes for drivers?
Blood alcohol content is determined in a laboratory.
Alcohol can be detected either by the alcohol content in the exhaled air or by the alcohol content in the blood. The alcohol content in the blood can only be determined in a laboratory with blood sampling. When blowing through a breathalyzer, it is possible to determine only the alcohol content in the exhaled air.
My breathalyzer shows ppm, how can that be? It's simple - “ppm” is calculated using the formula 1 ppm = 0.45 mg/l. This is a very simplified method and cannot be used in administrative matters.
In fact, nothing changes for ordinary blowdowns. The need to determine the alcohol content in the blood arises when a person is physically unable to exhale (too much intoxication, is unconscious, or in the event of death as a result of an accident). The permissible alcohol limit in 2021 remains virtually the same, but it can now be determined in two ways. Moreover, in a normal situation, taking a blood test is hardly justified.
Interesting on the topic: Testing for driver intoxication. Intoxication testing laws. Fine for driving without a license.
Penalties for driving while intoxicated
In 2021, it is stipulated that for the first offense related to driving a vehicle while intoxicated, an administrative fine of 30 thousand rubles or deprivation of the right to drive a vehicle for a period of one and a half to two years is provided. If the driver gives control to another person who is also drunk, then the punishment will be identical.
There are also serious penalties for repeat drunk driving. A repeat offense is considered to be committed within a year from the first. If the situation repeats after one and a half or two years, the offense will be considered the first, but the previous involvement will be recognized as an aggravating circumstance when the case is considered in court.
In case of repeated drunk driving, the following sanctions may be applied to the driver:
- a fine of up to 300,000 rubles;
- compulsory work up to 480 hours;
- forced labor for up to 2 years;
- imprisonment for up to 2 years;
- deprivation of driver's license for 3 years.
In the event of a collision with a pedestrian, resulting in serious consequences or death, the drunk driver will already bear criminal liability. If a person is seriously injured as a result of a collision, he can receive up to 4 years in prison or be sent to forced labor for a maximum of 3 years. When a pedestrian dies as a result of a collision (on the spot or subsequently in the hospital from the injury), he will have to go to prison for up to 7 years. If two or more people died in an accident involving a drunk driver, the prison term increases to 9 years. If there are certain mitigating circumstances, the court may limit the sentence to forced labor for a period of up to 5 years. In all cases, the rights will be taken away for 3 years.
In the event of a traffic accident, a drunk driver will almost always be found at fault. Drunk driving is an aggravating circumstance.
Video: Tougher penalties for drunk drivers
Permille or not?
To answer this question, you just need to know what ppm is.
Promille (lat. per mille - per thousand) - one thousandth, 1⁄10 percent; denoted by (‰); used to indicate the number of thousandths of something in its entirety.
We are accustomed to thinking that the alcohol content in exhaled air is calculated in mg/l, and the alcohol content in the blood in ppm. But if we carefully read the law, we will see that it is impossible to apply ppm according to such a text.
According to the law, mass is determined in volume - these are different quantities, and if you take ppm from the volume, then the volume should be obtained accordingly.
Determination of ppm sugar in tea
Put 15 grams of sugar in 200 ml of tea. What percentage of sugar is in tea? What is 1⁄10 percent (ppm)? Using this example, it is clear that the ppm sugar content in tea cannot be determined. But when we know approximately the volume of 1 gram of sugar, then with simple calculations we can already obtain the proportion of the volume of sugar in tea.
According to the law of the Russian Federation, ppm to determine the state of intoxication of drivers has not been used in recent years and will not be used in the near future.
Why the absence of the concept of ppm in legislation creates problems
Since in Russia there is still no concept of ppm, this actually entails quite big problems. Today, the only permitted method for checking the presence of alcohol in a driver’s blood is a breathalyzer test. The driver is obliged not only to exhale air from the lungs into the “tube”. He is obliged to exhale quite intensely, and more than once.
Now just imagine the following situations. The driver is drunk to the point of almost unconsciousness and is physically unable to exhale intensely. The driver is unconscious from his injuries or has died altogether. The driver turned out to be legally savvy and pretends to be intoxicated at a higher level than he really is, and disrupts the inspection procedure. In all such situations, without virtually the only legal result of the intoxication test, the judge simply will not be able to punish the driver fairly.
Another possible case is a situation in which a driver breathes into a breathalyzer, and it demonstrates exceeding the permitted alcohol limit. Moreover, a blood test at a medical institution indicated that everything was normal, the driver was absolutely sober. But the court still took away his license, since a blood test is not a legal method of testing blood alcohol.
Rumors and truth
Some excerpts from popular media. What is true and what is not.
| Statement | Is it true |
| Permille is defined as one thousandth of a percent. | Permille is defined as one tenth of a percent or one thousandth of a whole |
| The reading is 0.16 mg/liter in exhaled air, approximately equal to 0.33 g/l in the blood. | Right |
| The law tightens the liability of drivers who are intoxicated. | Liability is not regulated by this law |
| The state of intoxication of drivers will be determined by ppm | The state of intoxication of drivers will continue to be determined by the alcohol content in the exhaled air - 0.16 mg/l, an alternative method by the alcohol content in the blood - 0.3 g/l. Permille is not used . |
How many ppm are allowed while driving in Russia in 2021
After the legislation regarding the ppm content in the driver’s blood changed, many became interested in the question of consumption standards.
What can you eat and drink in the evening, and in what volume, so that in the morning alcohol does not exceed the permissible level?
This question cannot be answered unequivocally. It depends on the specific organism. Meaning:
- amount drunk;
- regularity of consumption;
- gender;
- body weight;
- age category;
- the presence of certain diseases;
- individual metabolic characteristics.
For example, a middle-aged man weighing about eighty kilograms will drink a bottle of regular light beer. One bottle of beer contains approximately 0.32 ppm.
Alcohol will be completely eliminated from the body in about three hours. But if a fragile girl drinks the same amount, then complete weathering will take much longer.
In the evening, before your morning trip, you can drink a glass of light wine, a glass of beer or a glass of vodka without fear of possible consequences.
With this amount in the morning, the indicator will not exceed the norms established by law.
After what medicine is alcohol detected in the blood?
Many car owners do not even suspect that taking certain medications can show the presence of ppm in the blood.
Of course, this option can be assumed when it comes to various alcoholic tinctures of herbs. But regular antiviral products can also contain a percentage of alcohol.
And it is quite possible to lose a substantial sum of money and the right to drive a vehicle for a long period of time just for taking preventive medications during the flu season.
Alcohol content is observed in the following preparations:
| Aflubin | Anti-flu remedy |
| Bittner | Cardiac balm |
| Biovital | Vitamin remedy |
| Vertigohel | A drug for the treatment of neurological diseases |
| Pertussin | Cough medicine |
| Rhinital | Antiallergic product |
There is a certain amount of alcohol in such popular medicines as tinctures of motherwort and valerian, barboval and corvalol. Taking such medications will invariably show the presence of alcohol in the blood when tested.
Legal norm
The new edition of Article 12 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation clearly shows what amount of alcohol is considered acceptable. This is 0.16 ppm and no more.
The amendment is due not only to the fact that certain products can help detect alcohol in the blood.
The possible measurement error was also taken into account, since the instruments used can show ±0.05 ppm.
Sometimes drivers wonder how many ppm are allowed in Moscow? After all, some laws provide strictly defined provisions for specific regions.
There are no differences in this case. The law on ppm is valid throughout the entire territory of the Russian Federation.
That is, now the driver can drink a glass of kefir during his lunch break, or quench his thirst in the heat with a glass of kvass, or calm his frayed nerves with Corvalol.
During measurements, a certain amount of ppm will be detected, but it will not exceed the permissible value.
Of course, the new amendments, as before, do not allow drinking alcohol-containing drinks while driving.
Knowing the permissible limit, you can independently calculate the amount of alcohol you can consume on the eve of your trip.
To do this, it is possible to use a special calculation algorithm - the Wedmark formula. To use it you need to know:
| Alcohol content of the drink | The information is on the label. A strength of forty degrees means that one hundred grams of a product contains forty grams of alcohol |
| Own weight | Since the concentration of alcohol is based on blood volume, which in turn depends on body weight |
According to the Wedmark formula, different correction factors are used - 0.6 for women and 0.7 for men.
This is due to the fact that the female body is more susceptible to the effects of alcohol than the male body. The calculation will be like this:
In one hour, about 0.1 ppm disappears from the female body, and 0.15 ppm from the male body.
Although individual characteristics and circumstances also matter. But it is possible to roughly calculate the amount of permissible drinking.
How is blood alcohol level measured?
There are two ways to measure your blood alcohol level:
| Determination of the amount of alcohol in exhaled air | When the driver breathes into the tube of a special measuring device. The amount should not exceed 0.16 ppm per liter of blood |
| Measuring the amount of alcohol in the blood | In this case, the driver suspected of being drunk is taken to a medical facility, where his blood is taken for analysis. The permissible value is 0.35 ml/l |
A blood test during the examination is considered more objective. It also becomes the decisive method for determining the amount of alcohol in the blood.
Based on the blood test, data on the amount of alcohol is entered into the protocol, and they become the basis for charges.
Patrol services use breathalyzers to determine the degree of intoxication. These are devices that measure blood alcohol levels in ppm.
There are the following types of breathalyzers:
| Electronic | Which measures the electrical conductivity of ethyl steam and shows the value on the screen. This device can be deceived if you know the nuances of its use |
| Electrochemical | Determining composition of exhaled air. The possibility of deceiving the device is practically eliminated due to its high accuracy |
| Spectrophotometric | Used in medical institutions and with the most accurate indicators |
At the same time, breathalyzers are divided into personal and professional. The latter are used by traffic police officers.
Some types of breathalyzers show results in mg/l rather than ppm. The value in ppm can be converted using the Dubrovsky formula.
According to this algorithm, the alcohol content in exhaled air depends on the product of the alcoholic concentration of the drink consumed and a number of correction factors.
Video: legal limit of alcohol while driving. Why exactly 0.16 ppm? Just something complicated
The formula is quite complex, but its basic essence can be reflected. To convert the breathalyzer readings into ppm, you need to divide the value displayed in mg/l by 0.15.
When a breathalyzer shows the presence of alcohol in the blood, but in fact the driver did not drink alcohol, it is possible to prove the case.
Formally, the use of a breathalyzer is not considered an examination. Objectively, it is purely conditional and mainly when the amount of ppm significantly exceeds the permissible norm.
To clarify the results, you must undergo a medical examination in a hospital.
It is also important to know this nuance that the traffic police officer is required to carry out the measurement in the mandatory presence of two witnesses.
If the driver asks, the passport of the measuring device must be presented and the breathalyzer numbers must match the passport data.
Among other things, the breathalyzer used must be included in the register of medical equipment of the Ministry of Health.
Penalties for violation
The penalties for drunk driving under current legislation are:
| Fine | From thirty to fifty thousand rubles |
| Deprivation of rights | For a period of one and a half to three years |
| Forced labor | Up to fifty hours |
| Administrative arrest | Up to fifteen days (for drivers already deprived of their license) |
| Deprivation of liberty | Up to two years (if repeated violation) |
If a drunk driver gets into an accident, he is automatically found guilty.
He will be subject to not only the penalty for drunk driving, but also the maximum penalty for other offenses committed.
It is also important that when paying a fine for drunkenness, you will not be able to take advantage of the fifty percent discount from the state for timely payment.
