Recently, there are often situations when car drivers, for various reasons, do not have time or forget to extend the CTP policy. However, not everyone knows what the punishment for this can be, and there is one in general. After all, the driver had insurance, but its validity had only expired ...
About the expired policy
Why are cases of the fact that compulsory motor third-party liability insurance expired?
To begin with, it is worth noting one important and significant feature in the procedure for compulsory motor third-party liability insurance, which has an indirect effect on the frequent cases of its delay.
The main reasons for the delay of the policy are the banal forgetfulness of the driver or his conscious desire. These reasons are known, but there is one more - difficulties in extending the policy due to huge queues. If before the driver had to wait no more than three hours for his turn, now the waiting time has increased many times, even preliminary entries have appeared for the extension of insurance, which can take up to three months. What is the reason for such lines? Everything is simple: after insurance rates and reimbursements have increased significantly, many insurance companies try to optimize their work and offer their customers under OSAGO insurance with a load of property or health insurance, for example.
It is precisely because of this that large queues began to arise in those insurance companies that do not impose additional services on their clients. In part, the service for issuing electronic policies allows us to save the situation, but the percentage of people who trust this method is still quite low.
How long can I travel with expired CTP insurance? Let's figure it out.
Nonexistent concept
All motorists should know that today such a concept does not exist. Undoubtedly, it is convenient to use this term in everyday life to mean non-extended insurance, however, such a concept has not had legal significance since 2009. Until that time, there was a rule according to which a motorist could legally ride with a policy for a month, which expired. This time was given to drivers to choose an insurance company and decide on the need to extend the policy. During this period, the policy was called expired, but it still had legal force. DPS was not entitled to a fine for expired compulsory motor liability insurance.
But today, such a right exists already from the first day of delay, because, in accordance with the amendments adopted in the legislation, at the end of the term of the policy, its legal force is lost and there are no additional conditions.
Therefore, if compulsory motor liability insurance is overdue, you can get a fine on the first day after its expiration date. Let's see what fines are provided and in what cases they can be applied today.
Penalties for an expired insurance policy
Earlier, until 2014, a universal fine was imposed, and its size was 500 rubles for similar violations, such as delay, lack of a policy or lack of it on hand, driving a car driver that is not included in the insurance. Along with this penalty, more severe measures could be applied - they could ban the use of a vehicle, seize numbers and even send a car to a penalty parking lot.
In case of seizure of numbers, the driver had a day in order to properly issue a policy and return his numbers back.
Today, as we already know, if compulsory motor third-party liability insurance is overdue, punishment is imposed. It is possible to apply such punishment to the guilty driver immediately, from the first day of the delay of the policy. This procedure was recorded in the first part of Article 12.37 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which was updated relatively recently - October 15, 2014. The changes took effect on November 15, 2015.
The first part of this article provides for certain sanctions against the driver in the case of driving with expired OSAGO. It turns out that the updated code does not contain the concept of “expired policy”, but this part of the law is relevant to our article.
What sanctions are provided for the driver?
Everything is quite simple: the law provides for a fine of 800 rubles. That is, if a driver is caught, he is fined and released - no other penalties apply. This procedure is another reason for a deliberate refusal to apply for a policy: for a driver who mainly travels in areas where traffic police patrols are rarely found, it is cheaper to pay a fine for compulsory motor third-party liability insurance several times than to spend a large amount on insurance. It is worth noting that such a practice is beneficial only if the driver drives without an accident.
Now we understand the situation with the fine. But we will deal with the question that arises quite often: how many times a day the traffic police inspector can fine the driver if compulsory motor third-party liability insurance is overdue?
This issue can be attributed to the category of misunderstandings - the situation is such that, in accordance with article No. 4.1 of paragraph 5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, traffic police cannot actually fine the driver several times for the same violation. This misunderstanding was further aggravated by the fact that the ability to move around with the seized numbers during the day was canceled - in this case, fines were not really imposed again.
But today the situation has changed: a penalty for overdue insurance of compulsory motor third-party liability insurance may be imposed at each discovery of the fact of its delay. This means the following: such a violation is interpreted as driving a vehicle on public roads in the absence of an insurance policy. Two important points follow from this:
• An expired policy does not constitute a separate type of offense and is equivalent to a lack of insurance at all.
• For each discovered fact of movement without compulsory motor third-party liability insurance, a separate penalty is imposed.
It turns out that the fine will be imposed not for the lack of a policy or its delay, but for the very movement on roads without a policy. That is, if you do not use common roads, then the policy is useless.
This means that each time you were caught on the road without a policy, it is an independent separate fact of the offense, and the penalty for each time will be separate - 800 rubles for each case of capture. The interesting thing is that the same traffic police officer can catch you, and then fine you, if this happens. And what is the penalty for overdue CTP for legal entities?
Penalties for overdue policies for legal entities
In this regard, the legislation is not fully developed. The problem is that legal entities that own corporate transport decide on their own whether they need to insure the vehicle (each individually).
However, the driver, and not the employer, which is a legal entity, is directly responsible for all offenses related to insurance. Not entirely logical scheme, of course.
It turns out that for overdue insurance fines will be imposed on the employee whom the legal entity hired. In this case, you can only give some advice to hired drivers:
1. You should independently remind your employer that the expiration date of the insurance is suitable. And to do this is better in advance - three months before the agreed date.
2. If you have to pay fines for a negligent employer, you have every right to demand appropriate compensation. In the event that such compensation is denied, the matter can be settled either through a pre-trial claim or by sending a claim for compensation to the judicial authorities. Is it possible to delay MTPL and not lose numbers? About it further.
Seizure of rooms and evacuation to the penalty parking
Often a question arises of this order: do traffic police inspectors have the legal right to rent a car number for expired insurance or to evacuate it to a parking lot?
The law answers unequivocally: no, inspectors have no such right.
More precisely, they no longer have it, but before they had that right. It was canceled by excluding article No. 27.13 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which regulated the penalties for drivers for such an offense. The repealed article provided for a ban on the use of the vehicle.
Recently, a driver can carry an unlimited number of copies of license plates. In this regard, the measure associated with the seizure of numbers has lost its practical meaning. In parallel with this, the evacuation of the car to the penalty parking lot, which was previously practiced by traffic police inspectors, was canceled. It is worth agreeing that this is not a commensurate proportionate punishment for the fact that MTPL insurance is expired. Fortunately, such measures are in the past, and now the driver is only fined.
Given this change, those affecting the Code of Administrative Offenses can be considered positive.
The consequences of an accident with expired compulsory motor liability insurance
How much can you ride and how does it threaten?
If an accident has occurred with your participation, and your insurance has expired, then the required fine of 800 rubles will have to be paid in any case, and your guilt or innocence will not affect it in any way.
If during an accident you find yourself the injured party, then the solution of questions on compensation for losses will be completely on you. This can be solved on the spot, in pre-trial or judicial proceedings.
If you are to blame for the accident, then the entire amount of the cost of reimbursing the injured party will be borne by you. You will have to pay it yourself in any case, since both the victim himself and his insurance company can sue you.
Is it possible to avoid collecting for an expired insurance policy?
It also happens that drivers wonder about the possibility of avoiding a penalty for an expired policy.
It may seem strange, then there is such an opportunity! But it is worth considering that such a trick will work only if the driver has previously prepared for the "capture" by the traffic police inspector, which can happen. Another important condition is the presence of another driver at the wheel of your vehicle.
What needs to be done for this? It will be necessary to draw up a simple power of attorney for someone to drive the vehicle, put the person behind the wheel of your car and drive quietly with him about his business. In this case, you can not be afraid of a fine.
It is worth considering that if traffic police officers catch you behind the wheel, then the power of attorney will not play a role and you will have to pay a fine. Let’s figure out what the catch is and why this is possible.
The situation is such that, in accordance with the law on compulsory motor third-party liability insurance, the presence of a power of attorney for management for the person to whom the power of attorney has been issued automatically initiates the emergence of a legal right to own a vehicle. And this, in turn, provides for the possibility of driving a vehicle within 10 days without insurance.
Important! In this case, if you are stopped by the traffic police inspector, the proxy should be at the wheel, and the proxy itself, as well as the registration certificate must be with the proxy.
Situation abroad
What penalties for an expired insurance policy are provided in other countries?
If we compare Russia with other countries, the penalty of 800 rubles fine is nothing.
For example, in EU countries, a driver has to pay from 300 to 700 euros for such a violation, and in some cases, it is also possible to withdraw a driver’s license.
A similar fine in neighboring and very poor Ukraine is about 425-850 hryvnia, which is much higher than the Russian fine.
Such information suggests that one can expect another tariff increase. However, when there will be the next update of penalties, it is not yet known.
Useful Tips
Do not delay to pay fines. If you pay the fine within 20 days after imposing it, a discount of 50% is provided. And in case you are a malicious payer, other preventive measures may be applied to you, such as administrative arrest for 15 days, or the appointment of 50 hours of community service.
Do not be rude to traffic police inspectors if they write you a fine for an expired OSAGO policy. At this time, there are no mitigating circumstances, so the inspector should write a fine, and not issue a warning.
Conclusion
Now we have figured out what is really meant by the term “overdue insurance” and how such a violation is qualified and punished today. Given the material from this article, you can easily decide whether to move in your car in the presence of an expired policy. This will allow you to take the necessary steps in advance. And one more tip: do not save on compulsory insurance. It is provided really for people, it helps to organize safe traffic on the roads, and everyone is interested in this.
And if MTPL insurance is overdue, now the policy can be issued online. It is fast and relatively inexpensive. Due to the fact that progress does not stand still, services are constantly being improved. Now the car can be insured in a timely manner, without leaving home.