Dirty license plates, erased letters and abnormal headlights – Auto

Fine for unreadable numbers in 2021

Article and amount of the fine. For an unreadable number there is a fine of 500 rubles. This is written in Art. 12.2 Code of Administrative Offences.

Tighter fines for dirty license plates in 2021. A draft of the new Code of Administrative Offenses has been posted on the federal portal of draft regulations. The new rules will come into effect after the document is signed by the president. There are no tougher fines for dirty numbers.

Fine for unreadable numbers in the parking lot. There is no such fine, since the car is stationary and is not used as a means of transportation. If there is a foreign object on a car's license plate, including dirt or snow, a service employee on foot will clear the plate and check the parking payment using a mobile device.

How the violation is recorded by cameras. The cameras do not read the license plate if there is dirt on it. They also don't penalize unreadable numbers.

Grigory Shukhman, expert in photo and video recording. All cameras that are on the roads in Russia have a drawback - they cannot read a license plate if at least one character is not readable.
This means that information about the violation may not go to the traffic police.

Examples of fine or deprivation

Let's look at typical examples of when you can be deprived of your driving privileges, and when you will end up with a financial sanction!

If you erase yourself

A situation where the number has been erased over time or from exposure to a cleaning brush (without the intention of erasing the letters or numbers of the state registration number) will most likely lead to punishment under Part 1 with a fine of 500 rubles or a warning.

Example of a number with natural wear

If only one letter or number is worn

But in this case, the traffic police inspector who stopped you may already see the intent - that is, the modification of the license plate, and draw up a protocol for the subsequent deprivation of the right to drive.

How deprivation occurs:

a traffic police officer stops you on the road, identifies a violation and draws up a report, thereby initiating a case of violation,
since cases, the norm of which is punishable by deprivation (including a fork - either a fine or deprivation of rights), are not within the competence of the inspectors on the road, the protocol is sent to the head of the traffic police unit at the place of violation,
the boss on the basis of aggravating (presence of the same type of fines as the most aggravating, as well as non-admission of guilt by the person who violated the traffic rules) or mitigating (repentance of the person, absence of fines, assistance in conducting the case) circumstances and in your presence (you are assigned a date for analysis at the traffic police and notified accordingly ) decides what to do - issue a fine or send the case to court, since inspectors are not authorized to deprive rights,
if the case is sent to court, then for the second time the judge, based on his personal conviction, decides whether to impose a fine or deprivation as a more severe punishment in the presence of aggravating and mitigating circumstances in the case, as well as in the first case, for how long to deprive the driver of his license for driving with an erased license plate .

Here it should be borne in mind that even in cases where all numbers or letters have been erased more or less evenly, the inspector may see in this violation the elements for prosecution under the deprivation part of Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offences. But at the court level or during an appeal, this is often reclassified to 1 part.

An example of a number where one digit is erased or deliberately colored

If numbers or letters are erased in such a way that they resemble others

In this case, in practice in 2021, there is a 99% chance that you will be charged under Part 3 with a large fine or deprivation, since again there is an intent to try to change the license plate in such a way that the auto-fixation camera reads a different letter or number.

An example of a number where the number 5 is made unrecognizable and can be confused with the number 3

Can my rights be revoked?

If you are stopped by a traffic police officer for having dirty license plates. Deprivation of a license or a fine for hidden license plates in 2021 is possible if the driver specifically tried to hide the license plate. Punishment is a fine of 5,000 rubles or deprivation of the right to drive for up to three months. There is no arrest for this - that's what the law says.

This happens when the driver:

covered part of the number with a sheet of paper;
installed a special mechanism that turns the number back to front;
deliberately soiled the room with mud or snow. This is immediately noticeable if there has been no precipitation for a long time. Car dealerships also sell “dirt in a can” for this purpose. Inspectors know about it - it is more difficult to clean off than ordinary dirt.

If, when checking documents, the inspector discovers that the license plate is stained with mud in dry sunny weather, he has the right to punish the driver. This is written in Part 4 of the special section of the Administrative Code.

Do cameras record dirty license plates? No, the camera will not see this, and the driver will not receive a fine for erased license plates.

The fine for a shabby number

The main provisions of the Rules indicate that license plates must be located in front and behind cars.

The Code of Administrative Offenses includes two penalties for violations of vehicle registration numbers:

500 rubles - under Article 12.2 Part 1. This is the minimum fine if the numbers are difficult to read or are placed incorrectly. In addition, a warning may be issued. This article contains a link to the second part.
5 thousand rubles or deprivation of rights for a period of 1 to 3 months.

In the second case, punishment is applied in the following cases:

deliberate damage to numbers;
the registration plate is installed incorrectly and is not in its place, sometimes it is placed under the windshield;
there is no one number;
A film is pasted over the number or special methods are used to hide the signs from video cameras.

Surely you already understand the main difference - if there is intent, then you face deprivation of rights, if not, then they will issue a fine. The main nuance is whether the numbers have worn out naturally or whether this was done intentionally.

Is it possible to pay with a discount?

All fines can be paid at a reduced cost with a 50% discount, provided that 20 days have not passed from the date of the decision.

When a number is considered unreadable or dirty

Recognition in the dark. If in the dark you cannot read at least one letter of the rear license plate from 20 meters away, you will be fined. This is stated in the note to Art. 12.2 of the Administrative Code.

Daytime recognition. During the day, both the rear and front license plates should be visible. The inspector will stop the car and move the required distance first from the front number plate, then from the rear number plate.

Possible reasons for the license plate being unreadable. This could be dirt, snow or stuck leaves. In rural areas this may be a mixture of straw and manure.

If the number is not readable from 20 meters, the inspector will fine the driver 500 rubles. Now if the license plates on the car are dirty, what fine is not a question

Reasons for rapid deterioration of numbers

The condition of the license plate may depend on a number of factors . The first is, of course, the mileage: the greater it is, the higher the degree of wear of the numbers.

In addition, the decal may be affected by the conditions in which the vehicle is used. For example, driving a car in the city has much less impact on the paint than in harsh driving conditions.

Some car enthusiasts try to protect their license plates by placing them in special metal frames.

Also, the state license plate can be erased very quickly if the quality of its manufacture is low . So, it may be that the car owner ordered a duplicate number plate from a private company, but low-quality materials were used for production.

This can cause it to wear off and become unreadable after just a few months, and in some cases even after the first rain.

Fortunately, in practice such numbers are quite rare. Much more often, numbers wear out as a result of the banal effects of time.

By law, it is prohibited to operate a car with unreadable license plates. Ignoring this requirement may result in a fine of 500 rubles.

What to do if the license plate on your car is erased? Some people decide to tint their license plates. But is this legal?

Procedure for appealing a fine

A respectful reason. In dry weather, it still happens that the rooms get dirty with mud. This happens to SUVs on a dirt road that is not dry after heavy rain. Or there was a utility accident and the water spilled onto the road mixed with dust - one car splashed this dirt on another, as a result the license plates are not readable.

Explanation. All this must be told to the inspector on the road or to the judge, if the case went to court - the inspector considered that the license plate was dirty on purpose.

Proof. If the inspector did not believe you and sent the report to the court, present to the judge the video recording of the recorder, testimony of witnesses or a certificate from the city utility service stating that the accident really happened.

Is it possible to paint over erased letters and numbers of a car number yourself?

By law no. In practice, you will most likely not get anything for this. So, let's talk about everything in order!

Clause 7.15 of the List of Malfunctions of the Basic Provisions of the Traffic Regulations states that the license plate number and its installation must comply with GOST R 50577-93. In the Rules themselves, of course, there is no clear prohibition on tinting the GRZ

GOST prescribes a number of requirements for license plates for their manufacturer, and we, accordingly, cannot violate these requirements either.

Thus, paragraph 3.6 of GOST indicates that each number and letter must be the same height. Well, this is a matter of accuracy, and we will not violate this point if we simply do not go beyond the convexity of the number symbols.

Paragraph 4.3 also states that the license plate field has a reflective coating, and paragraph 4.10 states that a holographic coating is also applied to the front side of the license plate. This means that by touching up the numbers with a marker or almost any other tool, we will violate the integrity (paint over) of this coating. However, reflectivity is provided only for the white background of the numbers. But the hologram is also applied to numbers and letters, and in principle we will not find a corresponding tool for them.

What to do?

In practice, everything turns out to be much simpler. The fact is that the hologram for 2021 is used only to protect numbers from counterfeiting.

The Code of Administrative Offenses has 2 parts of one article regarding punishment for license plates:

the first contains a sanction of 500 rubles for violating the above GOST,
the second can lead to deprivation of rights for modification, hiding, driving without license plates.

So, one of them - part 2 of article 12.2 - establishes deprivation of rights for modifying numbers. This logically seems the closest that can be drawn to independently tinting the number with a marker as a modification due to hiding part of the hologram.

Remember

A license plate is considered unreadable if during the day it is impossible to recognize at least one character of the front and rear license plates from 20 meters away.
At night, only the rear number is checked.
The fine for unreadable license plates is 500 rubles, if the driver did not intend to deliberately hide the license plates behind a layer of dirt.
If it is proven that the driver hid the number on purpose, he will receive a fine of 5,000 rubles. For this they can be deprived of their rights.
To avoid a fine, check the cleanliness of the rooms before leaving.
You can appeal such a fine if you provide a video recording of the reason for the dirt on the license plate as proof of innocence. This could be a utility accident or being forced to cross a muddy section of dirt road.

All articles by the author: Evgeniy Lesnov

How to avoid a fine?

Based on the above, we can conclude that it is unlikely that it will be possible to avoid a fine completely. But, if you are charged under Part 2 of Article 12.2, you can prove that there was no intent.

The fact is that, according to Article 1.5 of the Administrative Code, in Russia in 2021 there is a presumption of innocence; the accusing party must prove guilt. Therefore, the presence of intent still needs to be proven. The bad news is that even if it is obvious to you that the license plate was worn on purpose, and you did it intentionally, then it is naive to believe that the judge is stupid.

A fine of 500 rubles for an unreadable number can also be avoided. According to the same article, the sign is considered unreadable if it is impossible to distinguish at least one sign in front and behind at a distance of 20 meters during daylight hours, and only from behind (since only the rear sign is illuminated) in the dark.

To do this, even when stopped by an inspector on the road, you need to stock up on proof of innocence: stand at a distance of 20 meters and take a photo or, better yet, a video recording of the license plate. But only if it can actually be read from this distance.

What is the fine if numbers are placed on glass?

For driving a vehicle whose license plates are installed outside the place provided by the design, in 2021 you will also be punished under Part 2 of Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. Including if you put the license plates behind the glass in the car, and even if they are clearly visible from 20 meters away.

But what to do if there are no places provided by the design of the car at the moment. For example, if you removed the bumper or it was broken, and the numbers are installed on the bumper? Unfortunately, it is prohibited to travel in this case. Dura lex - sed lex (from Latin “the law is harsh, but it is the law”).

Tint the numbers yourself

Self-tinting of license plates can also take place, but some features should be taken into account:

1. Since you are not involved in counterfeiting state registration plates, a fine cannot be imposed on you.

2. State registration plates must comply with the requirements of GOST R 50577-93. Those. When you independently tint the digits of the license plate, you must also take into account the requirements of GOST. If you wish, you can study the full text of this document. Here I will list only its important features.

Basically, GOST requirements concern the reflective (white) part of the license plate. It must be made using special paints. If it so happens that the white part of your license plate has been erased, then you should not touch up the plates yourself; it is better to use one of the methods below.

As for black numbers, there are no requirements for light reflection. Those. The numbers can be tinted, the main thing is not to spoil the white reflective part of the registration plate.

If you decide to paint the numbers yourself, I recommend that you first cover the white part of the number with masking tape and only then touch up the numbers. This will protect the numbers from damage.

Ideally, before painting, the plates should be removed, washed, dried, degreased, and only then applied with waterproof paint. In the simplest case, you can limit yourself to using a black waterproof marker without preliminary preparation. However, the durability will be appropriate.

The advantage of touching up car license plates yourself is that the procedure is quite cheap. The downside is that if you haven't done this kind of thing before, touch-ups can take a long time.

In what cases can a license plate be considered non-standard or unreadable?

Let's analyze the resolution of the plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated June 25, 2019 in terms of non-standard, unreadable and counterfeit numbers.
Practice shows that in some cases, traffic police officers, when imposing fines for unreadable license plates on a car, act illegally, and lower courts do not identify inconsistencies. 4. When deciding whether a person’s actions constitute an administrative offense, expressed in driving a vehicle with unreadable, non-standard or installed in violation of the requirements of the state standard state registration plates (Part 1 of Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation), one should be guided by the note to this article, according to to which the state registration plate is recognized as non-standard if it does not comply with the requirements established by the legislation on technical regulation related to the operating conditions of state registration plates (for example, violation of the integrity of the coating of the state registration plate), and unreadable when readability in the dark is not ensured from a distance of twenty meters time of day of at least one of the letters or numbers of the rear state registration plate (in particular, in connection with a malfunction of the standard rear license plate lights), and during daylight hours of at least one of the letters or numbers of the front or rear state registration plate.

The objective side of the administrative offense provided for in Part 1 of Article 12.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation also includes driving a vehicle on which state registration plates are installed in violation of the requirements of the state standard specified for their installation on the vehicle, with the exception of violations related to the place of installation of such signs (for example, the method of attaching state registration plates does not meet the established requirements).

So, the method of attaching a license plate to a car, according to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, may be non-standard, the main thing is that this method guarantees readability of the license plate from a distance of 20 meters. A state sign with the coating removed (possibly partially), for example, worn down to a white background, will be considered non-standard.

Fine for driving without license plates, incorrectly installed license plates, driving with one license plate. Traffic rules prohibit driving a car without registration plates. In this article we will consider such aspects as...

↑ How to get a number in an easier way?

Last fall, the government changed the regulations for obtaining license plates; now you only need to contact the traffic police during the initial registration of a vehicle, or when the owner of a car changes during its purchase or sale. As for obtaining license plates if they are broken in an accident, lost or stolen, it is more convenient to make a duplicate from a certified company. This method has a number of advantages:

· Saves money – for the applicant, making duplicate license plates will cost about a thousand rubles; a similar procedure at the traffic police will cost 3 times more.

· Saves time - making duplicates will take only 5 minutes (re-registration of a car with the traffic police takes more than one day).

· Saves effort – leading service centers offer their clients the opportunity to fill out and pay for applications remotely through the service center website, and delivery of finished duplicates is carried out by courier.

In addition, receiving a duplicate is not re-registration, which means the car retains its previous number, only on a new plate.