Transport Inspection forgives people before journalists’ very eyes
The European Radio for Belarus decided to join the Transport Inspection in their regular raid throughout Minsk to see how the new Administrative Code worked.
We tried to find out the attitude of drivers and the Transport Inspectorate to the new code. We watched road traffic together with senior lieutenant Syarhey Hil and a traffic inspector Ruslan Kislyuk.
We asked Syarhey what innovations were the most important ones. He immediately recalled the prohibition to use cell phones while driving:
“It used to be allowed to do it. But now it can result in a warning or a fine of 62 thousand BRB. Today we stopped a woman for using a cell phone. It turned out she was talking to her doctor about her complicated pregnancy.
You can talk to people and ask them why they break this or that rule. When a person realizes there was an infringement but he or she really needed to do it we only pronounce a warning. But if people are talking over a cell phone at every road crossing how can we forgive it?”
Another actual issue is fine for unfastened belts. The fine for it is 62 thousand BRB. According to the old Code it was only 6200 BRB. Driving inspectors stop a driver with an unfastened belt:
“- You haven’t fastened your belt and violated article 18 of the new Administrative Code;
- I know, but I haven’t managed to do it in time. I always fasten it when I’m going by a route but I sometimes forget to do it in town. What can I say: it’s my fault. I will fasten it from now on.
- We pronounce a warning to you… “
So, you can meet good inspectors in Belarus too. For example, the inspectors warned 5 people in four hours and did not fine anybody. Maybe it happened only because a journalist was watching them. We stopped Aleh Antanovich at Tsihanovich Street and he described the attitude of drivers to the new Code:
“There is a great difference between a warning and a huge fine. If inspectors are in a good mood they can let me go. Otherwise I will be fined. But I think the new code is good, punishments have become more severe and it is necessary because there is a real mess on the roads sometimes. The way people are driving now and the way they used to do it differ greatly”.
During our trip the inspectors used a loud speaker and ordered one driver to stop. He seemed a bit drunk to them. One of the most important questions for drivers is whether to drive when you have drunk a little. But it is not a question anymore as the new fine has been implemented. A driver Victar stopped by the inspectors says:
“The fine for drunken driving is good. I have seen a lot of accidents because of it. It is really scary. But I think they should lower the fine for speeding violation. I live in Vileika and our average wage is 300.00 BRB. So, a driver can meditate for a moment and lose his month’s wage”.
Drivers should really think whether several minutes are worth a month’s wage. The head inspector Ruslan Kislyuk thinks there are much more drunk drivers at night:
“There are few of them in the day-time. There are some people in the morning – those who haven’t sobered up after the night. But it has become fewer of them. People have started fastening their belts more often because of the fine of 31 thousand BRB. There used to be a tendency – the more costly was the car the more rules the driver broke. But now it is vice versa”.
The new Code also describes such “not very important things” as opening doors while driving. We asked Syarhey Hilt to explain those Administrative Code innovations to us:
“There are drivers opening doors for no reason. According to the new Code they must be fined for 60 or even 310 thousand BRB. This detail is really important for traffic safety.
Speeding violation is also important. If it is less than 30 km then the fine is 31-62 thousand BRB (it used to be 62 thousand according to the old Code). But if your speeding violation is over 30 km the punishment will be more severe”.
The new Code has already been in power for four weeks but drivers haven’t got used to the innovations yet. Senior lieutenant Syarhey Hil says:
“The number of violations is the same but drivers have become more adequate. Nothing has changed after the new Code was implemented. People violated rules and will continue to violate them. Not all people know about the innovations. This Code is still Greek to them”.
We tried to find out the attitude of drivers and the Transport Inspectorate to the new code. We watched road traffic together with senior lieutenant Syarhey Hil and a traffic inspector Ruslan Kislyuk.
We asked Syarhey what innovations were the most important ones. He immediately recalled the prohibition to use cell phones while driving:
“It used to be allowed to do it. But now it can result in a warning or a fine of 62 thousand BRB. Today we stopped a woman for using a cell phone. It turned out she was talking to her doctor about her complicated pregnancy.
You can talk to people and ask them why they break this or that rule. When a person realizes there was an infringement but he or she really needed to do it we only pronounce a warning. But if people are talking over a cell phone at every road crossing how can we forgive it?”
Another actual issue is fine for unfastened belts. The fine for it is 62 thousand BRB. According to the old Code it was only 6200 BRB. Driving inspectors stop a driver with an unfastened belt:
“- You haven’t fastened your belt and violated article 18 of the new Administrative Code;
- I know, but I haven’t managed to do it in time. I always fasten it when I’m going by a route but I sometimes forget to do it in town. What can I say: it’s my fault. I will fasten it from now on.
- We pronounce a warning to you… “
So, you can meet good inspectors in Belarus too. For example, the inspectors warned 5 people in four hours and did not fine anybody. Maybe it happened only because a journalist was watching them. We stopped Aleh Antanovich at Tsihanovich Street and he described the attitude of drivers to the new Code:
“There is a great difference between a warning and a huge fine. If inspectors are in a good mood they can let me go. Otherwise I will be fined. But I think the new code is good, punishments have become more severe and it is necessary because there is a real mess on the roads sometimes. The way people are driving now and the way they used to do it differ greatly”.
During our trip the inspectors used a loud speaker and ordered one driver to stop. He seemed a bit drunk to them. One of the most important questions for drivers is whether to drive when you have drunk a little. But it is not a question anymore as the new fine has been implemented. A driver Victar stopped by the inspectors says:
“The fine for drunken driving is good. I have seen a lot of accidents because of it. It is really scary. But I think they should lower the fine for speeding violation. I live in Vileika and our average wage is 300.00 BRB. So, a driver can meditate for a moment and lose his month’s wage”.
Drivers should really think whether several minutes are worth a month’s wage. The head inspector Ruslan Kislyuk thinks there are much more drunk drivers at night:
“There are few of them in the day-time. There are some people in the morning – those who haven’t sobered up after the night. But it has become fewer of them. People have started fastening their belts more often because of the fine of 31 thousand BRB. There used to be a tendency – the more costly was the car the more rules the driver broke. But now it is vice versa”.
The new Code also describes such “not very important things” as opening doors while driving. We asked Syarhey Hilt to explain those Administrative Code innovations to us:
“There are drivers opening doors for no reason. According to the new Code they must be fined for 60 or even 310 thousand BRB. This detail is really important for traffic safety.
Speeding violation is also important. If it is less than 30 km then the fine is 31-62 thousand BRB (it used to be 62 thousand according to the old Code). But if your speeding violation is over 30 km the punishment will be more severe”.
The new Code has already been in power for four weeks but drivers haven’t got used to the innovations yet. Senior lieutenant Syarhey Hil says:
“The number of violations is the same but drivers have become more adequate. Nothing has changed after the new Code was implemented. People violated rules and will continue to violate them. Not all people know about the innovations. This Code is still Greek to them”.
