Fine for low environmental class of a vehicle

Good afternoon, dear reader.

This article will discuss changes to traffic rules effective from July 1, 2021 and from July 1, 2021.

The innovations consist in the introduction of completely new road signs, which may impose restrictions on cars depending on their environmental class .

At the first stage (in 2021), several new “ecological” signs were introduced into the traffic rules. And in 2021, the list of vehicles for which these signs apply is expanding.

Let's get started.

How to find out the environmental class of a car?

To make it easier for you to understand what we are talking about, I recommend that you first find out the environmental class of your car. To do this, pick up the vehicle registration certificate. In modern STS, the environmental class is written on the front side in the fourth line from the bottom.

For example, “Ecological class FIFTH” may be written there.

So, if you find a mark on the environmental class in the registration certificate, then remember the indicated number. In this case, your car will be subject to the changes that have been in effect since 2018.

Please note that just a few years ago, STS were issued that did not have an environmental class field. If you do not have such a field, then your car will be subject to separate clauses of the rules that apply from 2021.

Note. For some cars, the environmental class is indicated in the vehicle passport, but is not included in the registration certificate. From the point of view of the updated traffic rules, it is considered that the environmental class is not specified and the car will be subject to more restrictions. It will be especially offensive for car owners who bought a car with a high environmental class (for example, fifth) several years ago, when the mark was not yet included in the registration certificate.

If your car’s STS does not have an environmental class, then it makes sense to contact the traffic police to obtain a new STS. At the same time, you don’t have to rush with the replacement, because... There is still quite a lot of time until July 1, 2021. The replacement procedure itself is quick; the state fee for issuing a paper document is 500 rubles, for a plastic one - 1,500 rubles.

Services to improve the environmental class of freight transport

To obtain a pass to Moscow zones where EC restrictions have been introduced, a truck must have a class of at least Euro-2.
For example, to drive along the Moscow Ring Road, you need a minimum Euro-2 threshold, otherwise a pass will not be issued. Now a program has been launched to determine a real EC using the traffic police database, so the previously existing fraudulent tricks with forgery of documents, when they could enter the required class, no longer work.

There are many companies that provide services for checking and improving the environmental class of trucks. The company's consultants will check your documents and advise whether you need to increase your environmental class to obtain a pass. The services include the following stages:

• preparation of documents;
• carrying out diagnostics;
• machine conversion work;
• registration with the traffic police and delivery of final documents to the customer;
• receiving a pass.

If you decide to improve your EC and contact one of the companies, then first check whether it has the right to carry out such work.

Road signs “Zone with environmental class restrictions”

So, from July 1, 2021, 4 new road signs have been introduced into the traffic rules:

In addition, signs 5.35 and 5.36 can be additionally equipped with plate 8.23 ​​“Photo and video recording”:

Those. in the coverage area of ​​the indicated signs, if sign 8.23 ​​is present, violations will be recorded automatically.

Restrictions from July 1, 2021 (if the environmental class is indicated in the STS)

Let's look at what each of these signs means:

5.35: Prohibits the movement of motor vehicles (including all cars) whose emission class is lower than the number on the sign.

The picture above shows a sign indicating the fifth environmental class. This sign prohibits the movement of vehicles with environmental class from 1 to 4.

5.36: Prohibits the movement of trucks, tractors and self-propelled vehicles whose environmental class is lower than the number on the sign.

Restrictions from July 1, 2021 (if the environmental class is NOT specified in the STS)

5.35: Prohibits the movement of motor vehicles (including all cars) whose emission class is lower than the number on the sign, as well as cars whose emission class is not indicated.

Let’s assume that the car has an environmental class of “FIFTH”, which is indicated in the PTS. However, the car was purchased in 2010 and has never changed ownership since then. Those. There is no entry on the environmental class in the registration certificate. In this case, the driver will not be able to drive under the sign shown in the picture above.

5.36: Prohibits the movement of trucks, tractors and self-propelled vehicles whose environmental class is lower than the number on the sign, as well as trucks, tractors and self-propelled vehicles whose environmental class is not indicated.

Signs 5.37 and 5.38 show the place where the restrictions introduced by signs 5.35 and 5.36, respectively, end:

How to determine

The environmental class depends on the amount of harmful substances contained in the vehicle's exhaust gases. The higher it is, the better.
If a car is classified as Euro 5, a minimum amount of toxic substances is released into the environment. This affects the amount of tax penalties. The lower the pollution, the less you have to pay.

You can determine the class of your car in one of two ways:

1. View in PTS. This information should appear in this document.
2. How to determine the environmental class of a car if this data is not in the title? You can check your car using the database of the department dealing with technical regulation and metrology. To do this you will need to enter the VIN code.

If the query result shows that the vehicle belongs to several classes, the car is not certified. You will need to go through a certification process. It's paid. However, if the car is of a high class, these costs will be recouped through lower taxes. It is recommended not to delay this process.

Exceptions for “Zone with Environmental Class Restriction” signs

There are several types of vehicles to which signs 5.35 and 5.36 do not apply :

• armed forces vehicles;
• police cars;
• rescue vehicles;
• ambulances;
• gas network emergency service vehicles;
• Postal vehicles (must have a white diagonal stripe on the side surface on a blue background).

The listed vehicles can enter zones with environmental class restrictions in any case. And it doesn’t matter what class is indicated in the registration certificate.

Euro racing: which cars will be banned from driving in Russia

Photo: Global Look Press

Cases of parking in a prohibited zone for a car are described in parts 4 and 5 of Article 12.16 and provide for a fine of 1,500 rubles. (or 3000 rubles in Moscow and St. Petersburg). However, by the fall, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Transport may prepare amendments to introduce a separate fine for violations of environmental zones, the amount of which, according to some information, could reach 10 thousand rubles.

How many cars will be subject to restrictions?

Currently, Euro-5 standards are in force in Russia, and all new cars sold in the country meet precisely these requirements. However, their share in the total park is relatively small. In total, just under 45 million cars are registered in Russia, the average age of which ranges from 9 years in Tatarstan to 20 years in the Far East, and in the country as a whole is more than 13 years.

According to experts from the Avtostat agency, only 16% of passenger cars in Russia have the Euro-5 environmental class. In megacities this figure is slightly higher: 35% in Moscow and 30% in St. Petersburg. 28% of all cars comply with Euro-4 standards, and more than half of the fleet comply with Euro-3 and lower. Almost 30% of cars do not even meet Euro-2 standards, and this is from 13 to 14 million conditionally “dirty” cars. However, there are no exact figures, since many cars registered in Russia do not have any indication of the existing environmental class in their documents.

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With the “cleanliness” of commercial vehicles, oh, the situation is worse. Even in the segment of light commercial vehicles, of which more than 4 million are registered, 45% of vehicles do not meet the Euro-2 level, and out of 3.7 million trucks, 65% are “dirty”.

What is the difference between cars under different Euro standards?

In the European Union, the initial Euro 1 requirements were introduced in July 1992. It was then that manufacturers began to abandon carburetor engines and switch to fuel injection systems that could reliably maintain the correct fuel mixture. At the same time, catalytic converters began to appear, burning unburned fuel residues in the exhaust system.

Since the beginning of 1996, Europe has moved to more stringent Euro 2 standards, which required precise multipoint fuel injection systems. Four years later, Euro-3 standards were introduced, for the sake of which engines began to be equipped with dual exhaust diagnostic systems and quickly warming catalytic collectors, since the new regulations required the neutralization system to reach operating modes as soon as possible.

Euro-4 standards introduced in 2005 required the installation of electronic gas pedals for more optimal operation of injection systems. Even more stringent Euro 5 standards, which were introduced in September 2009, ensured a longer vehicle mileage without reducing environmental parameters. Finally, since 2015, Europe has had the most stringent Euro 6 regulation to date, which imposes very serious restrictions on diesel engines and requires them to additionally use urea in the exhaust gas aftertreatment system.

Vehicle environmental class plate

Starting from July 1, 2021, a new plate 8.25 has also been introduced into the rules:

It can be used in conjunction with the following road signs:

And also with signs:

Please note that the signs above are divided into 2 groups. When used with each of them, the sign has a different meaning and this will be discussed below.

Restrictions from July 1, 2021 (if the environmental class is indicated in the STS)

The plate indicates that the sign applies to vehicles whose environmental class is lower than the number on the sign.

For example, the above combination of road signs means that turning left is prohibited only for those cars with an environmental class of 1 to 3.

In this case, the sign has the opposite meaning! Parking is permitted only for vehicles whose environmental class is equal to or greater than the number on the sign.

For example, the above combination of road signs means that parking is only permitted for vehicles whose environmental class is 4, 5 or higher.

Restrictions from July 1, 2021 (if the environmental class is NOT specified in the STS)

The plate indicates that the sign applies to vehicles whose environmental class is lower than the number on the sign, as well as to vehicles whose environmental class is not indicated in the registration certificate.

Parking is permitted only for vehicles whose environmental class is equal to or greater than the number on the sign, as well as vehicles whose environmental class is not indicated in the registration certificate.

Please note an important point. If the vehicle’s environmental class is not indicated, then from July 1, 2021 to July 1, 2021, such a vehicle cannot be parked in the coverage area of ​​the above signs. However, starting from July 1, 2021, this option will be introduced.

It is possible to change the environmental class in the PTS

The first forms of vehicle passports with the EC mark began to appear after 2005. If you are the owner of a car with a year of manufacture before 2006 or the car was imported into the country before this period, then you will not see the environmental class in the PTS. Therefore, it is considered that it is not installed on your car, and you are prohibited from driving along sections of the road with EC restrictions. In order not to become a hostage to such a situation, you should add this item to the PTS. This can only be done at the traffic police, having evidence confirming the EC of your car.

One of the effective ways to confirm EC is to conduct an examination. It is carried out only by laboratories accredited to carry out such work. Experts can determine the EC by the VIN of the car or from various databases.

A change in the environmental class, which is determined by the manufacturer, can only be carried out by re-equipping the vehicle in the prescribed manner.

Re-equipment to new environmental standards

Car repair shops that have a patent are involved in modifying car engines in order to reduce the amount of harmful substances released into the atmosphere.
They install special sensors in the fuel system that maintain the desired composition of the combustible mixture, exhaust gas catalysts and other devices. The purpose of these actions is to bring emissions of harmful substances to the required EC standard. If you decide to remake, then you need to start by submitting an application to a testing laboratory that carries out preliminary technical examination. Copies of documents will be required there:

• PTS (both sides);
• SRTS (both sides);
• documents for installed components subject to mandatory certification;
• contact details (address, telephone).

Having received a preliminary conclusion from the laboratory, you should contact the technical supervision department of the traffic police. Inspectors will consider the possibility of installing devices that reduce harmful emissions. Copies should be attached:

• PTS;
• SRTS;
• preliminary detention;

Be sure to present your car for inspection.

If installation is possible, then you contact a car service that has a patent, which fills out an application - declaration and issues a copy of the certificate of conformity. When installing devices yourself, the owner fills out such a document. After the work is completed, a technical inspection of the vehicle is carried out and changes are made with information about the installed devices in the diagnostic card in the “Notes” column. Next, the testing laboratory that issued the preliminary conclusion will test the car for structural safety after the modification and issue an inspection report.

Next, you need to contact the technical supervision department of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate to obtain a certificate of compliance of the vehicle design with safety requirements (SCTS).

With the completed documents, you should contact the MREO of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate regarding the issue of entering the environmental class into the vehicle and SRTS passport.

Table of actions of signs with environmental class

To better understand the phased introduction of traffic rules, I recommend that you study the following table:

When do they take effect?

The changes to the traffic rules have already entered into legal force, which is why they are called “July”. New road signs are in effect from July 1, 2018. This is prescribed by government decree No. 832 itself, which introduces innovations.

2. Establish that paragraphs eight to ten, twelfth, thirteen, fifteen to seventeen, twenty-third (in terms of addition with the numbers “5.35” and “5.36”), twenty-four - twenty-sixth, twenty-eighth and twenty-nine subparagraph “c” of paragraph 1 of the changes approved by this resolution come into force on July 1, 2021, and paragraphs eleven, fourteen, twenty-seven and thirty of subparagraph “c” of paragraph 1 of the changes approved by this resolution - from July 1, 2021.

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