Russian drivers will have a new reason for alarm. The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation has launched the process of returning a fine for exceeding the average speed. It previously existed, but was canceled in 2021. Now the authorities intend to eliminate inconsistencies in the legislation and return this norm again.

How it works

In the document published by the Ministry of Transport, the concept of average speed, which is planned to be introduced into the rules of the road, sounds like this:

«The average speed of a vehicle is a value equal to the ratio of the length of the road section with the established speed limit of vehicles to the time spent by the vehicle to overcome this section,» the draft says.

It turns out that everything is like in a school textbook, the car goes between two points, the system records the travel time and calculates the average speed. This method was invented for drivers who know about the location of speed cameras or use radar detectors. Under the scope of the camera, they drive within the permitted speed, when there is no control, they fly under the road with a violation.

Why was it canceled

Fines for exceeding the average speed in Russia was discharged for seven years from 2014 to 2021. But the Supreme Court overturned this rule. Firstly in There is no such thing as traffic regulations, secondly, when fixing a violation, it is impossible to establish a specific place where the violation was committed. Actually, now the Ministry of Transport eliminates these formalities. The concept is introduced, as well as the position according to which the «finish» of the section on which the average speed is measured will be considered the place of the violation.

Is it possible to cheat the system

Obviously, yes. You can slow down or stop altogether to compensate for driving too fast. Therefore, discussing the refund of the fine for average speed, experts suggest introducing these sections where it is impossible to pull over or to the gas station. Tunnels, overpasses or sections of highways without exits fall under these conditions.

In this case, the average speed penalty is particularly insidious with drivers who violate «a little bit». For example, they drive at the speed limit and slightly exceed it when overtaking or ahead of the curve. It will be most offensive for them to catch such a fine.

When will they start fining

The concept of «average speed» will appear in Traffic regulations from March 1, 2024. Then it will be implemented in the Administrative Code. After that, the traffic police will be able to issue fines. No new cameras or new software needed. Everything worked until 2021 anyway. Just press the button. The only thing that will require revision is to check the sections where the average speed is measured, so that they are within the same administrative unit, so that there is no confusion with the appeal of fines and jurisdiction.

What the experts say

As the vice-president of the National Automobile Union Anton Shaparin told Novye Izvestia, it does not matter how to control the speed of drivers: by average or instantaneous speed. The main thing is that this is a violation, and it should be punished.

«The rules of the road prohibit speeding, the Code of Administrative Violations establishes penalties for this. The control method is deeply secondary: if the camera is certified as a measuring instrument, verified, gives objective information, then it can be used. At the same time, the instantaneous speed control works more rigidly with respect to the driver: it does not allow the driver to level the speedometer error, the slope of the road, avoiding a collision,» Shaparin said.

When this rule was still in effect, the union conducted a survey of drivers and the majority considered this restriction fair. Then 59% of Russians consider it fair to control speed on a road section — when speeding is recorded for a long time. 35% of Russians disagree with them, 6% found it difficult to answer the question. At the same time, the maximum level of support for average speed control was among residents of the North Caucasus, Northwestern, Southern and Far Eastern Federal Districts — 64-66%. Women were more active in supporting this method than men — 67% versus 56%.