Penalty for not wearing a reflective vest in 2021

Today we will talk about what color a vehicle driver’s vest should be. In 2021, amendments to the law were adopted regulating the wearing of protective equipment at night. Since the requirements for signal clothing have become more stringent, it is necessary to carefully consider them.

Decree on the mandatory use of signal clothing No. 1524 was signed on December 12, 2017 and received legal force on March 18, 2018. The bill was approved by the Chairman of the Government D.A. Medvedev.

Having a reflective vest in the car

The legislative framework. If a traffic police inspector stops a car and does not find a reflective vest, he has no right to issue a fine. This is not a violation.

But according to traffic rules, a vest must be worn when four conditions match:

• the driver was forced to stop, for example, to change a tire, or was involved in an accident;
• went out onto the road or side of the road;
• it happened outside the city;
• It’s dark outside or visibility is limited in some way: a mountain, a sharp turn in the road, or dense thickets.

Instead of a vest, you can use a jacket or cape, the main thing is that they have reflective stripes according to the state regulations.

New requirements. These requirements have been in effect since March 2021 by decree of the Russian government.
There have been no changes since then.

Reflective vest - new rules

In 2021, the presence of a vest with reflective elements in a car was regulated at the legislative level. The Government of the Russian Federation proposed and approved amendments to paragraph 2.3.4 of the traffic rules on the correct behavior of the car owner. According to the new law, a person driving a vehicle is required to wear a special reflective vest when leaving the vehicle on the highway. The requirement of the regulatory document applies only to stops at night or in conditions of poor visibility outside populated areas.

Resolution No. 1524 on the need to use a signal vest was signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on December 12, 2021 and came into force on March 18, 2021. Workwear must comply with GOST 12.4.281-2014.

The Government's initiative caused a mixed reaction among drivers. Thus, most motorists agree that many lives can be saved thanks to a safety vest. At the same time, they believe that everyone should make their own decision about the purchase of protective clothing, and that requirements for the presence of such an item in the car are illegal.

Why should you use a vest?

Protect yourself. A tired driver may not immediately notice a person in the dark if he is not wearing reflective elements. Therefore, the main reason to wear a vest on a country road in the evening or at night is to become more visible from afar to other drivers. This way they will have time to slow down or go around.

Eliminate fines without a vest. If you get out of the car without a vest in such a situation, you may be fined; if you had to stop because of an accident, the fine will be twice as large.

What about in other countries?

The certificate from the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate, which was attached to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, also indicated positive European experience. Rossiyskaya Gazeta clarifies that in many countries motorists are required to have reflective vests for drivers - there is a law on this in:

• Hungary;
• Poland;
• Portugal;
• Spain;
• Italy;
• France;
• Slovenia.

Moreover, the laws of some states oblige drivers to have several sets of capes - for themselves and for passengers. If you need to move along the side of the road at night or cross a road outside the city, the driver must provide the vehicle passengers with the necessary equipment.

How to choose the right vest

Requirements for clothing with reflective elements. A vest, cape or jacket that meets the state standards requirements is suitable:

• the main part is yellow, orange or red;
• one or two reflective stripes are sewn around the torso, each at least five centimeters wide;
• if there are two stripes, the bottom one should be located no less than five centimeters from the bottom of the vest;
• two additional vertical stripes are acceptable, which go across the shoulders and converge with the horizontal stripe at the front and back;

If the vest does not match the guest, it is the same as if it does not exist.

How much does it cost and how to choose. The cost of a vest for May 2021 is from 130 to 950 rubles. The simplest option is suitable for the driver - the main thing is that it is the right size and reflects the light. You can check this with a flashlight or camera flash.

The vest can have one or two stripes, plus perhaps two additional ones across the shoulders

Is a driver's vest necessary in 2021?

The traffic hazard on Russian highways increases every year, so reflective vests were introduced for a reason. In conditions of limited visibility, the likelihood of hitting a person increases significantly. A driver who goes out onto the road without a cape with reflective elements risks his life.

A signal vest with reflective stripes can prevent misfortune and save the car owner’s life, because it is visible at a distance of up to 300 meters. Without a vest, the chances of survival are close to zero. There will be very little time to react in such a situation - a few seconds will not be enough to avoid tragedy. If the question arises whether vests are needed for Russian drivers in 2019, the answer is obvious.

What is the penalty for non-compliance with traffic rules?

Fine for not wearing a vest in the car. The law does not provide for such a fine. The vest does not have to be carried in the car all the time, unlike a first aid kit, fire extinguisher and emergency sign.

Fine for being near a car at night without a vest. For such a violation, a fine is provided, its size depends on the situation: stopping and going out onto the road or side of the road in the dark without a vest is a traffic violation. The fine will be 500 rubles. the participant in the accident did not put on a vest in the evening or at night - this is equivalent to failure to perform duties in an accident. Fine - 1 thousand rubles.

Material for sewing reflective capes

To sew signal vests and capes, background material is used, onto which reflective strips are sewn. Their number, width and location are also regulated by the rules. Reflectors must be visible from any viewing angle.

The strips are made of fabric that has retroreflector properties - the ability to reflect directional light towards its source

When considering the question of what color a driver’s reflective vest should be, you need to say a few words about the material from which it is made. The most commonly used fabrics are woven polyester or calico cotton fabric. The price of the product depends on the density of the fabric, that is, the number of threads per square centimeter.

All signal clothing can be divided into two categories:

• Made from polyester knitted mesh. Lightweight, breathable, allowing air and vapor to pass through. Dries quickly after washing.
• Made from plain weave. Durable, dense, wear-resistant. Poorly ventilated.

How and where to pay a fine for a vest

On "Traffic Police Fines". On the main page, enter the license plate number of the car, STS number and license, as well as your email address for notifications. If there are fines, the service will show them. Click "Pay".

Check the driver's details and click "Proceed to Payment".

Enter your bank card details and click “Pay”.

On State Services. To register for the service, you will have to visit the nearest authorized center with your passport and SNILS. After this, you can indicate the STS and license numbers in your personal account, and then find. Any fines found can be paid.

On the website of the State Traffic Inspectorate. Find the “Check fines” banner on the main page, enter the license plate number and STS. Click Request Review. If there are fines, you can click “Pay fines”. After this, the service will offer to choose one of the third-party payment systems and warn that it is not responsible for repaying the fine.

Should you always have a vest in your car in 2021?

By law, motorists are not required to carry reflective clothing in their cars every day, so no one has the right to punish them for this.

But it is still recommended to purchase a reflective cape, because you cannot know in advance exactly when a forced stop will occur. It won’t take up much space in the car, and you can be sure that you will never be fined for not wearing a special vest when you were on the highway at night and not inside the vehicle. And besides, this is your safety. While you are wearing a reflective cape, approaching cars on the road will see you from afar and will not accidentally run into you.

Remember

1. Carrying a vest in a car is not required by law. But the driver must wear it if he leaves the car outside the city in poor visibility.
2. This is how the state solves the problem of driver safety - without reflective elements on clothing, he may not be noticed and hit.
3. If you do not wear a vest in such a situation, you will be fined 500 rubles. If the driver gets out of the car due to an accident, the fine is higher - 1 thousand rubles.
4. In other situations, a fine for not wearing a vest can be appealed.
5. The easiest way is to pay the fine with a discount in the first 20 days on the “Staff Traffic Police Fines”.

All articles by the author: Ilya Novikov

Overexposed

The corresponding government decree was signed by Dmitry Medvedev. It states that drivers “in the event of a forced stop of a vehicle or a traffic accident outside populated areas in the dark or in conditions of limited visibility while on the roadway or side of the road, must be dressed in a jacket, vest or cape vest with stripes retroreflective material that meets the requirements of GOST 12.4.281-2014.”

Let us recall that relatively recently pedestrians were required to wear reflective elements on their clothing if they move along the side of the road or the edge of the roadway at night outside populated areas.

The rule did not apply to drivers getting out of the car in such conditions. As a result, according to traffic police data for six months of this year, about 7.5 thousand collisions with pedestrians were recorded on Russian roads at night.

This is 10.2 percent less than the same period last year. In these accidents, 1,321 people died and 6,537 people were injured. At the same time, the number of collisions with drivers who got out of cars on the roadway or on the side of the road increased by almost five percent. Over the six months of this year, 66 such accidents occurred.

It must be said that the requirement for vests in a car is in the rules of most European countries. Moreover, in some there is a requirement to carry vests in the car, including for each passenger. And there are serious fines for this.

The number of collisions with drivers who got out of the car on the road or on the side of the road increased by five percent

In Russia, the new requirement for drivers will come into force 90 days after its official publication. However, there is no fine for not wearing a vest yet. In Europe, reflective vests are becoming mandatory.

Over the past decade, reflective vests have become a mandatory part of the driver's kit in most European countries. Specific rules vary from one country to another. For example, in Hungary, Spain, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and France, laws require such clothing to be carried not only for the driver, but also for each passenger. At the same time, it should be in the cabin, and not in the trunk, so that the vest can be put on before leaving the car.

In Austria, Bulgaria and Estonia, in addition to the driver of a car or motorcycle, vests are required only for the passenger who goes out onto the roadway. In Finland and the Czech Republic, clothing with such elements must be worn by pedestrians in poor visibility. So far there are no similar requirements in the UK, Greece, Denmark, or Ireland, although this is being discussed.

For example, the British government is considering starting by requiring all cyclists on the road to wear reflective vests. However, many road users take care of their safety on their own and buy such clothes. And last summer in the UK, the owners of one of the villas even dressed their chickens in special vests, which sometimes ran out onto the road in the dark and fell under the wheels of cars. Fines for not wearing reflective clothing can be quite painful on the wallet.

In Germany it is only 15 euros, in Italy, Spain and France - from 100 to 140 euros, and in Portugal the violator will be fined 300-600 euros. Much more than the few euros you'll have to pay for a vest. There are no federal laws in the United States that require drivers, motorcyclists, or cyclists to wear reflective clothing at night. The vast majority of state traffic laws explain how reflective clothing reduces the risk of accidents in the dark, and relevant questions are required to be included on driver's license exams.

But the final choice - to use such clothing or not - is usually made by movement participants themselves. Special uniforms with reflective elements are required only for road workers, police officers, firefighters and rescuers and all citizens who work at night on federal highways. At the same time, in some regions, local authorities sometimes introduce requirements for reflective clothing.

For example, since 2013, all couriers and postmen riding bicycles or scooters on the busy streets of New York are required to wear one. You can buy such a vest in the USA for 5-10 dollars (about 300-600 rubles).

Regulatory requirements for signal clothing

The Traffic Regulations 2021 includes a clause on the obligation of drivers to wear high-visibility clothing when stopping outside the urban area at night or in poor visibility. The requirements for this type of clothing are determined by the system of standards regulating occupational safety and health GOST 12.4.281-2014, which establish technical standards for the production of high-visibility textile products.

Currently, such a system of standards has the status of an interdepartmental standard. If previously technical requirements applied to the clothing of road construction workers, now these standards form the basis for the requirement for signal clothing within the framework of traffic regulations. Requirements for the key parameters of products that increase the visibility of an object in the dark are set out in detail in the standard. They include parameters of stability, reflectivity, color palette, wear resistance, etc.

Key requirements for high visibility clothing in accordance with GOST:

• the fluorescent material must emit light whose wavelength is higher than the corresponding absorbed light;
• the reflective material must have good reflective properties (have retroreflector properties);
• Signal clothing must ensure high visibility during the day and at night.

High-visibility clothing is available in the form of jackets, overalls, trousers, and cape vests. All clothing options have special stripes, the parameters of which are determined by the standard.

The design of signal clothing includes elements for wrapping the torso, arms or legs, with the exception of cap-type vests. The driver's safety vest must meet special technical specifications.

What awaits violators?

The driver of a vehicle who does not have a reflective product may be charged by the State Traffic Inspectorate with several articles of the Administrative Code, the choice of which is determined by the circumstances of the case:

1. There is no vest in the vehicle, but the situation provided for in Section 2, Clause 3.4 of the Traffic Regulations has not arisen - there is no penalty for this.
2. If you stop outside the city in conditions that impede visibility, and the driver who left the vehicle is not wearing a vest, you will have to pay 500 rubles to the budget or receive a warning (Part 1 of Article 12.29 of the Administrative Code).
3. An accident involving a vehicle occurred on a country road in conditions of limited visibility, the driver was not wearing a vest - under Article 12.27 of the Administrative Code, Part 1, he will be fined 1,000 rubles.

Part 1.3 of Article 32.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses allows you to pay fines under Articles 12.27 and 12.29 within a 20-day period with a 50% discount. In this case, the fine will be 500 and 250 rubles.

The nuances of using vests on the road

As of 2021, there are no penalties for motorists and their passengers for not wearing a reflective vest. In addition, passengers can even be near vehicles on the highway at night without special clothing.

Now the judicial authorities of the Russian Federation are checking the norms regarding the lack of reflective vests for motorists, with a view to making changes and amendments. The fact is that after getting out of the car at a stop or if in the event of an accident, the driver can no longer be assigned the status of “driver” and in this regard, according to the law, penalties cannot be applied to him in accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses.

Can the traffic police require you to show a reflective vest?

Neither the Traffic Regulations nor the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation stipulate the driver’s obligation to present the item in question to the inspector. Likewise, the duties and rights of the inspector do not include the ability to check the presence of this vest.

The very fact of the absence of a vest with reflective stripes does not constitute an administrative offense, since not a single regulatory act establishes the obligation to store it in the car.

The traffic rules stipulate the driver's obligation to BE in this vest outside the car, and not to have it with him. And although the first follows from the second, from a legal point of view everything is extremely clear: until you get out of the car, the traffic police will not know in any way whether you have this vest.

Speaking with examples, if the obligation to equip a car with a first aid kit is specified in the traffic rules, then the presence of a vest is considered exclusively on the driver, and not in the car.

Thus, any demands of the traffic police inspector to show a reflective vest are illegal.