Revocation of a driver's license for drunkenness - consultation with a car lawyer

The material was checked by the Expert: Kochergin Yuri Alekseevich

General Director of the Legal Support Center. Judicial experience in various disputes: 13 years. Education: AIE (f) SPbAUE.

Knowing a few tricks, you can really avoid deprivation of your license for driving while intoxicated. Moreover, based on the law, it is realistic to make the traffic inspector, and not the drunk driver, the offender.

Driving while intoxicated is punishable by a fine of 30,000 rubles or deprivation of rights for a period of 1.5 - 2 years, and the time period applies only to the first time; in case of a repeated offense, the ban on driving is 3 years. How to avoid deprivation of rights for alcohol in court is not precisely spelled out in the law, however, the notes of Article 12.8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation state: “... liability <...> occurs in the event of an established fact of use of substances that cause alcohol intoxication...”. This means that it is possible to protect yourself from punishment if you refute the fact confirming the specified violation.

Attention!
It is an administrative offense not only to drive a vehicle while intoxicated, but also to transfer control of the vehicle to a person who is intoxicated.

A traffic police officer does not have the authority to take away a driver’s license, since removal from driving a vehicle is carried out only by judicial procedure. The inspector may require documents to be submitted to the court.

Is it possible to avoid deprivation of rights?

Without legal assistance, it will not be possible to avoid deprivation of rights for alcohol intoxication, since, as already mentioned, the legislation does not have clear recommendations regarding this issue. A lawyer specializing in drunk driving cases knows quick and correct solutions. It is almost impossible for an incompetent person to independently understand the hidden implications of the law.

If the court has already made a decision to deprive a driver’s license due to alcohol intoxication, you can file an appeal.

On a note!
Court decisions of the first instance are subject to appeal only. The decision of the Court of Appeal is not disputed.

When it is impossible to avoid imprisonment for intoxication

It is impossible to prevent punishment if the offender fails to appear in court to appeal the charge of driving under the influence of alcohol. The decision to revoke a driver's license comes into force 10 days from the date of the verdict. The deadlines can be restored only if there is a good reason:

disaster;
unconscious state.

Advantages of contacting a lawyer in Moscow

If your driver's license is revoked, find professional lawyers in Yuda. They will study the materials of your case in detail and act in accordance with Russian law. Having certain knowledge and experience in conducting such cases, the lawyers on our site will provide you with qualified assistance.

Deprivation of driving documents may occur in situations where you:

We drove into the oncoming lane
Became involved in an accident
Crossed the railroad tracks incorrectly
Exceeded the speed limit

The lawyers you will find on Yuda deal with the return of driver's licenses by collecting all the evidence and referring to the Code of Administrative Offenses and traffic rules.

Due to the fact that the majority of the population is legally ignorant, the seizure of rights often occurs in situations where it can be avoided.

Drivers should be aware of the powers that officers typically have to revoke a driver's license:

They can only draw up a protocol and submit it to the court for further decision-making.
If you are not guilty, you must ask for this to be recorded in the protocol
If the deprivation of a driver’s license is carried out on the road, then the driver must immediately be provided with a temporary permit, which will be valid until the final decision in court

Law enforcement officers quite often make mistakes when preparing documents to confiscate a driver’s license. Therefore, you should contact a driver’s license revocation professional, Yud, who will study the information in detail. The data obtained will become the basis for termination of the case and return of the driver’s license.

Finding such errors on your own will always be problematic, so you will need the help of a lawyer. He will refute the deprivation of your documents by collecting evidence of the absence of guilt. As a result, the administrative penalty will be lifted.

The Right Action

It is necessary to behave in a conversation with a traffic police officer by adhering to the following recommendations:

do not refuse to take an alcohol test. If the driver is truly intoxicated (even slightly), then you should not seek testing at a medical institution in order to avoid punishment (deprivation of rights or a fine). After a medical report, it is possible to register with a diagnosis of chronic alcoholism, but here there are more serious restrictions;
Do not count on leniency from the state traffic inspector. A sincere confession of taking alcohol will only confirm the suspicions of a law enforcement official;
carefully read each point of the compiled protocol. If the driver makes no comments, then this confirms the fact of his guilt, which is problematic to refute at a court hearing.

On a note!
The driver has the right to record a conversation with a law enforcement officer on camera.

Medical examination

Reasons for referral to a medical institution are required, namely:

driver's refusal to take a breathalyzer on the road;
the traffic inspector disagrees with the results of the alcohol test;
the driver disagrees with the received data.

The traffic police officer undertakes to draw up a “protocol of referral for a medical examination.” At this moment, a video recording is made, and witnesses are also present. After drawing up the protocol, in accordance with clause 6.9 of Order No. 664, the inspector must personally take the offender to a medical examination, where a test for alcohol and drugs is carried out. A medical examination involves taking exhaled air (clause 231 of the same order). It is possible that urine and blood tests will be performed, which are placed in special flasks and sealed.

If the medical examination did not reveal the presence of artificial stimulants in the body, which is confirmed by the examination report, then the driver managed to avoid deprivation of his license without legal assistance. It is important to know that, based on clauses 233 and 240 of Order No. 664, the driver must be sent “... to the place of suspension from driving a vehicle or to the location of his vehicle...”.

Protocol on administrative violation

A protocol on removal from driving a vehicle is drawn up after a medical examination. It is important to double-check all data in the document for compliance:

addresses where the offense was recorded;
the vehicle driven by the driver;
witnesses included in the protocol and other aspects.

What can you do before the court to protect yourself from deprivation?

After the traffic inspector has drawn up and sent the report to the court, which takes 15 days to review, then the date for the hearing is specified. If the offender has not received a summons to court, this does not mean that the meeting will not be held and the driver will not face deprivation of his license for alcohol intoxication. In order not to miss the deadlines for the trial, you must independently find out the date of the trial, otherwise it will become impossible to challenge the offense and avoid punishment. Information about lawsuits related to road accidents is posted on the website of the State Traffic Inspectorate, where you must enter data from your driver’s license.

What to ask the court for if a medical examination took place

witness statements, if any;
a copy of the medical institution’s license;
a list of employees who are obliged to store containers with tests, as well as a petition to invite these persons to court;
order of the head physician for permission to collect blood (if such a procedure was performed) by a health worker;
admission of the physician who conducted the examination;
documents on sealing flasks with urine and blood.

What to apply for if you were only tested for alcohol on the road

To prove your case and avoid punishment in the form of deprivation of your license due to driving while intoxicated, you should request permission to:

obtaining testimony from witnesses from the driver's side;
calling a traffic inspector who conducted a breathalyzer;
calling witnesses who participated in the examination;
attaching video recordings to materials if the driver filmed a conversation with traffic inspectors;
documents for the device used to test alcohol concentration.

Revocation of driver's license for alcohol

Deprivation of rights for alcohol intoxication is one of the most common cases (along with “oncoming traffic”) of applying this serious punishment to drivers. Unfortunately, the number of accidents involving drunk drivers increased according to traffic police statistics in 2014 compared to 2013 - in Moscow by 31%, in the Voronezh region by 54%, in St. Petersburg by 94%, and in the Krasnodar Territory even more than twice as much – by 102.8%. This year there has been some improvement in the situation, but, unfortunately, very insignificant.

Deprivation of a driver's license for alcohol is provided for by civil law.

Driving or transferring control of a vehicle (TS) to a person who is intoxicated in accordance with Article 12.8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses is punishable by a fine of 30,000 rubles and deprivation of the right to drive a vehicle for a period of one and a half to two years.

The version of the article, valid until July 1, 2015, stipulates punishment for a repeated violation - 50,000 rubles and another deprivation of rights for drunkenness for a period of 3 years. But starting this summer, driving a vehicle while intoxicated, repeatedly detected, as well as refusing medical tests for intoxication will be considered criminal offenses. Responsibility increases accordingly.

Now malicious owners of extra ppm will be deprived of their rights for up to three years, coupled with a criminal conviction. However, other types of punishment are also provided for this crime - an administrative fine in the amount of 200,000 to 300,000 rubles or imprisonment for up to 2 years. The measure of punishment in each specific case is determined by the court.

What can you be charged with?

It is the fact that the decision on the issue of sentencing for driving while intoxicated falls exclusively within the competence of the judiciary that allows us to fight for the rights of the driver when they are tried to apply punishment to them unreasonably.

We are convinced that drunk driving is a crime, and any criminal should receive the punishment they deserve.

But life is more complicated than dry schemes of justice. Deprivation of a driver's license for drunkenness - when a drunk person gets behind the wheel to drive "for more" - this is one thing. But it happens that a driver who is facing deprivation of his license was not in a drunken state: for example, the traffic police inspector, in his official zeal, hastened to give you a breathalyzer that had just been turned on, but had not yet reached operating mode - and it showed incorrect numbers.

Any of us is not immune from becoming a victim of circumstances or provocation of unscrupulous law enforcement officers - such cases are also not completely eliminated, unfortunately. And to lose a four-wheeled friend, and perhaps even the breadwinner of the family, for several years due to dishonesty or a simple mistake by an inspector is, you see, unfair.

In addition, we are convinced that it is possible to punish a person according to the law only if all the evidence of his guilt is collected and presented in accordance with the exact requirements of the law, which is often not entirely true in cases where deprivation of rights for alcohol is considered. Therefore, in court we strive to return the situation exclusively to the legal channel.

Advice from a car lawyer

So, if you are facing the loss of your license for intoxication, you can turn to us for help. We will carefully analyze all the circumstances of the current situation.

If the registration of a protocol and other documents by traffic police officers was carried out without witnesses
If there are ambiguities or inaccuracies in the documents themselves (the address for recording the offense was incorrectly indicated or, say, the date of drawing up the protocol was found to be incorrect)
If the procedure for drawing up all the documents necessary for submission to the court does not comply with the requirements of the law (for example, a protocol on an administrative offense was drawn up before a protocol on a medical examination)
All this gives grounds to declare a violation of the procedural order and hope that the proceedings in the case will be terminated.

Each specific case is usually unique.

You can hardly count on the court to “take pity on you” or on the fact that you will “deal with the situation” on your own in such a serious matter as drinking alcohol while driving.

Enlist the support of experienced lawyers - call us right now - and you will have a chance to leave the court in your own car, rather than using public transport.

How to avoid being disqualified for drunkenness

Article 1.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses provides for a number of aspects that constitute serious grounds for doubt regarding the reliability of the established fact of driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

If the roadside inspection procedure itself is violated

It is quite possible to avoid deprivation of a driver’s license in court if:

the disk with records of the fact from the inspection site is unreadable or lost by the patrol officers;
signatures of witnesses in documents differ;
the time of examination is not recorded or does not match in the protocols;
incorrect sequence of examination;
the alcohol concentration is not written in mg/l, but is presented in other values;
incorrect interval between inhaled air samples (15 - 20 minutes), which does not correspond to the entries in the receipts.

Breathalyzer violations on the road

lack of printed tester results;
air temperature or weather conditions are unsuitable for testing with the device;
Data about the driver and the device, as well as the time and date of the test, are not recorded. The instrument inspection date does not have to be hand-written;
non-compliance of the device certificate with state standards No. 50444-92;
lack of signature on the verification document;
the breathalyzer is not registered as a medical device;
the seal on the tester is broken or missing;
time checks are no longer relevant;
the analysis was carried out by a non-accredited organization.

Violations during medical examination

the driver was sent to a medical facility without a preliminary breathalyzer test;
after collecting exhaled air, no urine or blood analysis was carried out or, conversely, blood and urine were tested without collecting air;
there is no doctor’s signature on the medical examination report;
the laboratory has an expired or missing license;
the test took place in a mobile laboratory;
the doctor does not have a certificate of completion of training.

How to behave in court for deprivation of rights for drunkenness?

If a report of arrest for driving while intoxicated has been drawn up and submitted to the court, the offender must challenge it so that the punishment is minimal. Under no circumstances should you miss a court hearing. It is necessary to clarify the date and time of its holding and appear at the hearing on time.

It is important to carefully consider your position when challenging the charge. The law allows the car owner to express his point of view on what happened. You need not to deprive yourself of this opportunity, make arguments in your favor and bring them to the magistrate.

You should carefully study the arguments and evidence of the opposing side. At the slightest opportunity, it is necessary to ask clarifying questions, demand the recall of witnesses, and refute the accusations with reason.

Protocol on offense

If the court makes an unfavorable decision, the car owner is given 10 days to appeal. You must take advantage of this opportunity by convincingly arguing your position.

Can a lawyer help me?

Undoubtedly, a lawyer or other person acting as a defense lawyer in court will provide support. How high the likelihood of losing your license due to alcohol intoxication is depends on the specific situation. However, with competent legal support, the risks of being removed from driving are significantly reduced.

It is also recommended that you familiarize yourself with the table indicating the penalties:

Name of the legislative act	Type of violation	Punishment
clause 3 art. 12.27	Driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs without consequences related to the Criminal Code.	Removal from management for 1.5 - 2 years. Fine – 30,000 rubles.
clause 1 art. 12.26	Refusal of medical examination.
clause 2 art. 12.8	Transferring control of a vehicle to a person under the influence of alcohol.

Free consultation with a lawyer on deprivation of rights

We have already mentioned that finding a suitable lawyer for deprivation of a driver’s license is quite simple and completely free. Let us briefly explain how our system works:

Anyone who wants to find a lawyer posts their question in the system. You can do this around the clock using the online form below, or by ordering a call back or calling yourself.
The system will select the most suitable driver’s license lawyer for free. It is this specialist who will answer the question asked.
The potential client will read the response and be able to clarify some details.
After this, you have to decide whether the proposed lawyer is suitable or not.
If a positive decision is made, the client and lawyer proceed to direct communication with each other.

That's all! This is how our system for selecting lawyers, including auto lawyers, works simply and without financial costs: use an online form or telephone, ask a question, get an answer - and your interests are already protected by a professional lawyer.

Consultations by phone. The call is free within the Russian Federation.

There is no need to be afraid of disclosing details of the case or personal information. After concluding an agreement between a lawyer and a client, our system removes itself from the process. We do not receive any information about the progress of the case, results, etc. Both the service provided by the lawyer and the performance of the obligations of the parties, according to the agreement, are beyond our competence and responsibility.