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Drinking In Russia Will Cost You More If Convicted
The Russian government has forwarded a bill to the State Duma which proposes to categorize drinking and drug intoxication as aggravating circumstances in accidents, the lower house of parliament has said on its website.
This bill is consistent with existing laws which state that drinking can be an aggravating circumstance of administrative crimes committed under the influence. However, it is stipulated in the bill that, depending on the nature of the crime, the judge, the agency or the official who hands down the administrative penalty is not obliged to consider drinking or drug intoxication as an aggravating circumstance.
The Justice Ministry has drafted the bill together with the Interior Ministry, the Healthcare Ministry, the Federal Drug Control Service, the Federal Security Service (FSB), the Prosecutor General's Office and the Supreme Court.
According to statistics provided by the Justice Ministry, the number of crimes committed under the influence of alcohol or drugs is growing by over 10% every year.
During a meeting on traffic safety in October 2012, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that inebriation should be considered an aggravating circumstance in car accidents.
The need to toughen punishment for drunk driving arose after an inebriated driver rammed into a bus stop in Moscow, killing seven people, including five orphans and their minders.
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