The law on confiscating cars from drunk drivers will come into force in October

Amendments to certain codes of the Republic of Belarus on strengthening liability measures for driving a vehicle while intoxicated were published today on the National Legal Portal and will enter into force in three months, reports BELTA.

The amendments, in particular, provide for changes to Art. 61 of the Criminal Code, which will allow for the special confiscation of a vehicle, including one not owned by the drunk driver himself, in cases where a case is initiated under Art. 317-1 "Driving a vehicle by a person in a state of intoxication, transferring control of a vehicle to such a person, or refusing to undergo a check (examination)" of the Criminal Code of Belarus. Confiscation will not apply to cases where the car was obtained as a result of theft, self-will, etc.

At the same time, only confiscation within the framework of criminal legislation is meant, i.e., it concerns a repeated case of driving a vehicle within a year. As for the Code of Administrative Offenses, the fines in this code will be significantly increased: from 15-35 basic units to 50-100.

Additions are also made to Art. 317 "Violation of traffic rules or operation of vehicles" of the Criminal Code. If under the current code, intoxication in this case is an aggravating circumstance, then in the new version, two parts are introduced into the article concerning drunk drivers. According to Part 4, a drunk driver, through whose fault grievous bodily harm was caused or a person died, may receive from 6 months to 7 years of imprisonment. Part 5 for the death of two or more people in an accident due to the fault of a drunk driver will provide for 4 to 10 years of imprisonment. At the same time, no alternative penalties for such crimes are introduced into the code.

Earlier, on June 19 this year, the document was adopted by the House of Representatives in two readings at once, and on June 23, it was approved by the Council of the Republic. The President of Belarus signed the law on July 12.