Drunk driving becomes more serious than terrorism in Russia

New amendments may appear in the Russian legislation to toughen penalties for drunk driving. According to deputies, the penalties for drunk drivers should be not less than 100,000 rubles ($3,200). The reckless drivers, who kill other people either out of their chase for adrenalin or while driving DUI, can be imprisoned for life.

Drunk driving becomes more serious than terrorism in Russia. 48061.jpeg

Andrei Vorobyov, the head of United Russia faction in the State Duma, said that the current law provides criminal penalties only if a car accident entails victims. The party believes that it is about time the situation should be changed, BFM.ru reports.

"Tiny penalties of five thousand rubles  ($200) and the maximum administrative detention for 15 days are totally inappropriate. The punishment for driving under the influence will be toughened, and so will the punishment for driving without driver's license," said Vorobyov.

According to him, MPs will insist on radical toughening of penalties for the drivers who repeatedly get caught for drunk driving. It is proposed to deprive them of license either for a long period of time or permanently.

As an example, Vorobyov referred to Belarus, where the punishment for drunk driving makes up 2,500 dollars. "In Russia, we will insist on the introduction of penalties for similar offense in the amount of 100,000 rubles," the official added.

United Russia deputy Shamsail Saraliyev says that the problem of drunken drivers in the country was much more serious than the problem of terrorism. "Last year, drunk drivers killed 2,103 people. This is a colossal number. This year, as of September, tragedies on the roads have killed 2,300 people," he added.  

Fifty-seven people were killed in terrorist attacks in 2011 in Russia. In this connection, United Russia activists actually offer to equate drunk drivers to terrorists.

It is worthy of note that last Saturday, a car accident took place in Moscow, in which five orphaned children and two adults were killed. All of them were standing on a bus stop, when a Toyota vehicle rammed into the stop at full speed. The driver was not only drunk: as he admitted, he had been drinking for two days.