Driving under the influence and without a license has become a serious problem on modern roads. Reading the traffic police reports is frightening. Every day, dozens of drivers are apprehended in the country while intoxicated, and almost half of them are without a license. There has been a noticeable increase in reckless and rude drivers on the roads.
Driving under the influence and without a license has become a serious problem on modern roads. Reading the traffic police reports is frightening. Every day, dozens of drivers are apprehended in the country while intoxicated, and almost half of them are without a license. There has been a noticeable increase in reckless and rude drivers on the roads.
Older generations will clearly remember the Soviet system: accumulating three demerit points on your license within a year meant losing it for a year. These points were issued for any traffic violation. The incentive to drive more carefully was simple and understandable, and most importantly, it genuinely improved road safety.
In accordance with the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Administrative Offences, Article 18.19 provides for liability for driving a vehicle without a license. Driving "without a license" includes: individuals who have not undergone any training or passed driving tests; individuals who do not possess a license for the relevant category. For those who nevertheless undertake to drive a vehicle without the appropriate license, a fine ranging from five to twenty basic units shall be imposed. The same actions, committed repeatedly within one year after the imposition of an administrative penalty for similar offenses, shall entail a fine ranging from twenty to fifty basic units or administrative arrest for up to 15 days. Those who entrust their vehicle to an unlicensed driver will bear the same liability.
It is worth noting separately that individuals deprived of their driving licenses are in no way different from those who have never had one. If caught, a "deprived" individual should not expect leniency due to the fact that they can actually drive.
Over the 8 months of 2018, a growing trend in road traffic accidents caused by drivers without driving licenses has been observed in the Vitebsk region, along with an increase in the number of fatalities in these accidents. In order to prevent road traffic accidents involving individuals without driving licenses and to stop them from violating the Traffic Rules, a preventive campaign "No Unlicensed Drivers Behind the Wheel!" will be held in the Vitebsk region from September 10 to 16, 2018.